Collateral Damage
by Wolfgang Yharnum
Summary: Lucifer would be jealous. Vincent, an underground assassin turned Fairy Tail wizard is in for the ultimate job: Dealing with normal life. Adjusting to a life where murder isn't allowed makes for one Hell of struggle. WARNING: Language, Lemons, and Violence OCxMira!
1. One: Collateral Damage

Chapter One

Collateral Damage

"Talk" _'Think'_ **"Demon Talk" 'Demon Think'** ** _"Spells"_**

"Vincent! Don't do this!" a fat man shouted, hiding under his lab coat, popping sounds were heard as the glass above him shattered, raining shards on him, "This is what I was trained to do." a smooth voice called, "But, we've been friends for so long! Why are you doing this!?" he shouted again, "Because Jalen, I'm not a good person, never was, never will be, money is nice, even if I got to kill you for it." Vincent answered, turning the corner and standing before Jalen. Vincent was a tall man, around six three, his build was strong but not slim, his face was square, straight, and handsome, a stubble ran up to his dark brown hair that was pushed back, he wore a grey suit with a white shirt that had a button undone without a tie. "So, I'm going to kill you." Vincent lifted a silver .40 caliber Smith and Wesson 1911 model to Jalen's head, firing a loud shot before walking away as the man's body hit the ground, "Now, back to the guild."

Vincent walked into the Eisenwald guildhall, several of the members looked his way before shrugging and going about eating and drinking, one of the new members kept eyeballing him though, "Hey, don't go fuckin with that guy Gar." The guild member next to him warned, Gar, the new member was a short, buff guy with a purple Mohawk and tight brown leather clothes, "Whatever, he can't stand against my blue fire." Gar scoffed arrogantly, waltzing toward Vincent. "Hey, you think you can act all high and mighty just cause you're a big shot? I can take you." Gar challenged, standing in front of Vincent, blocking his path, three shots rang out, and two hit Gar in the chest, another in his head, dropping him like a sack of bricks. "Collateral damage. That's all you are." Vincent said coldly, stepping over the body and heading for the job board, "Vincent!" he looked over and saw Erigor the Reaper heading for him, "Yes Erigor?" the wind wizard was grinning evilly, "Eisenwald will rule, we're going to recover Lullaby and kill all of the guild masters at their meeting, at the moment I'm waiting for my subordinate Kageyama to return." Erigor explained, leaning on the bar next to him. "Yeah, why should I care?" Vincent asked with a bored tone, "Because, you will be ruling the world with us!" Erigor exclaimed, using his arms for emphasis, "I don't care about ruling the world." Vincent said plainly, walking off, leaving Erigor confused.

 **Day of Eisenwald's plan:**

Vincent decided on helping the guild with their less than successful plan, he knew it wouldn't work when Kagayama came back in a blown up train car that had a certain magic residue left on the car. "Hey dumbass." Vincent called, catching Kageyama's attention, "What, asshole?" Kageyama walked over after taking Erigor's anger, "I called you dumbass because you are one!" Vincent slammed him into the train car, "Really!? A fucking Dragon Slayer!? You fought a Dragon Slayer, affiliated with Fairy Tail!?" he yelled, banging Kageyama on the car. "Yeah! So what!?" Kageyama pushed Vincent off of him, "Dragon Slayers are extremely powerful, ruthless, destructive, stubborn, and hard headed wizards, when you fight one, you have to be careful, you weren't." Vincent drew his pistol from his right hip, firing three shots and killing Kageyama. "Damn, he's merciless, brutal…" someone whispered, they watched Vincent look around, "What!?" he shouted, making them all back off, "Why did you do that?" Erigor growled, "What? Kill that stupid bastard?" Vincent wondered, "Yes!" the Reaper hissed putting his scythe against Vincent's neck. "You killed my subordinate, for that I should kill you!" Erigor shouted, wind whipping around him, "Does it look like I care? Push any harder on that scythe and you're dead." Vincent threatened, the cold barrel of his pistol pushing into Erigor's throat as he appeared before him. "Fine, do as you please." Erigor crumbled, his voice shaky, "Good." Vincent holstered his gun in a concealed holster, walking onto the train, "Now then, you want to continue your plan, no?" he asked, finding a comfortable place to sit, "Yes, let's go!" Erigor ordered his men unto the train, starting off for the next town.

Vincent watched with interest as Erigor deceived the Fairy Tail wizards, his eyes focused on the armored redhead, "Erza Scarlet, Titania of Fairy Tail…" his eyes moved to the pink haired boy on the ground, "That's Salamander, the Dragon Slayer I sensed." He got up from his seat and walked to the door of the train, "I feel like that dumbass Kageyama I killed had some purpose here…. Eh, whatever." The explosion of fire in front of the goon crown caught his attention, "Hello, seems the Salamander is awake." Vincent exited the car, Salamander and a black haired boy were sent off to follow Erigor while Titania and a blond haired girl stayed behind. It didn't take long for Titania to wipe out a lot of the goons, "Goon squad's getting fucked up!" Vincent chuckled to himself. In his small laughing fit, he had not noticed that the "Goon Squad" was completely wiped out, leaving him standing there, "You!" Vincent looked up and saw Titania approaching him, "Shit!" he pulled his gun, taking a knee and holding steady. "Don't come any closer, I hit a light bulb at this distance, don't think I can't pop a cap in your head!" Vincent shouted, Erza stopped, seeing the silver handgun, "Hades… handgun of death…" she whispered, "Yep, now back up!" Vincent shouted again, Erza stayed put, thinking to herself, "Hey… Don't test me Titania!" he shouted, flicking the safety off. Erza made her decision, "How about this, could you make a deal?" she asked, Vincent rose a brow, _'What could Titania make a deal with? It's going to be, if I miss or she deflects it, I die or go to prison. If I kill her, well then I go free…'_ "Let me guess, if you survive my shot, I go with you, if you don't, I leave, right?" he question, standing up straight. Erza nodded, "Alright, deal." Vincent agreed with a devilish grin, Erza wasted no time in charging him, changing her armor to some bat-like armor, a shot rang out, somewhere in the train station the bullet bounced off of something, crashing into the marble floor. "Well shit!" Vincent laughed, Erza had shot forward, knocking his aim off by tapping Hades with her sword before putting the blade on his throat, "A deal is a deal, Vincent Lucifer." Erza grinned, grabbing Hades out of his hand, "Yes, it is. Well, let's go." Vincent held his hands up as Erza guided him back to the blond haired girl. "So, you know who I am?" he asked, "Yes, you're one of the best underground assassins, going by your first name and killing anyone you have to, calling non-targets 'Collateral Damage' because they got in the way." Erza confirmed, shoving him along, "Hey Erza!" they looked up and saw the black haired boy. "Gray! Where's Natsu!?" Erza shouted, "We split up to find Erigor!" Gray shouted back, Vincent was not really paying much attention and watched Hades slowly replace itself with a fake gun and teleporting to his holster, Erza took no notice at all to the now fake gun in her hand. "You!" Erza caught Vincent's attention, "Yes?" he responded, smiling innocently, "Stay here! If I find that you ran off, I will castrate you!" she shouted in his face, "Yes Madam." Vincent bowed and sat on the ground, not moving at all, "Good, I'll be right back." Erza and the blond set off to find the Salamander, a blue, flying cat in tow.

Vincent whistled before he felt the wind behind him, "What'd you do? Miss the Titania?" Erigor asked, "Yeah, I was quite taken aback by how she avoided it." Vincent sighed, "Well, you're no good to me now that you've proven yourself weak and able to be defeated." Erigor's scythe was placed in front of Vincent's neck. Three shots rang out, two were deflected by Erigor's scythe, the last hit him in the stomach, Vincent ducked under a scythe swing, "You may be a good shot but you have no magical powers!" Erigor yelled, slashing wildly at Vincent. "When was the last time you checked?" the scythe was knocked out of Erigor's hands by a powerful roundhouse kick from Vincent, he holstered his pistol and grabbed Erigor's scarf, launching his knee into the wind wizard's face. Vincent grasped Erigor by his wrist and kicked out his legs before spinning him and slamming the wizard into the ground. "Rrraaahhhh!" Erigor got up and threw Vincent away with a wind blast, "I'll trap you in here with those stupid Fairy Flies!" he picked up his scythe and flew outside as a wind barrier started to form, "Fuck…" Vincent groaned, pulling himself up off a pile of goons. "Vincent!" Erza shouted, running down to him with her whole team together, "Ah, see! I didn't go anywhere! But now none of us can!" Vincent shouted humorously, gesturing to the wind barrier, "I see that, did you know this was coming?" Erza asked with a growl, "I… may have, but that's not the point, the point is that I forgot that I can leave!" Vincent darted for the barrier, passing through without a problem. "Ha! Fuck you guys, I got a bone to pick with Eri-whore! I bid you adieu!" they heard Vincent run off and take their car, "That son of a bitch, he went back on his word!" Erza shouted, a dark aura coming from her, "Uhh… I REMEMBERED!"

Erigor held his gunshot wound as he flew over the bridge, he chuckled as he flew along until he heard a gunshot too late, feeling the extreme pain in his right shoulder, making him lose concentration and hit the tracks with a thud. "Sup asshole? Remember me?!" Vincent cried, slamming his black leather shoe on the back of Erigor's head, "You bastard!" Erigor growled, his voice muffled in the gravel, "I think I'll enjoy shooting the shit out of you!" Vincent shot him in the ass, "AHHGG! WHAT THE FUCK!?" the wind wizard screamed in pain. "Yeah! I shot you in the ass! Get over it!" *WHACK* a tan fist punched Vincent in the face, throwing him off of Erigor, "Ughhh… Salamander, you fucker!" he groaned, seeing the Dragon Slayer, "You were going to kill him! Shut up!" Natsu yelled, his fists ablaze with his anger, "So?" another fist connected with Vincent's face, this time it was Erigor's. "Thanks kid! Now buzz off!" Erigor blasted the unaware Natsu off of the bridge, "That was a dick move." Vincent commented, "And so was shooting me in the ass! Leave now, I'm not letting you catch up!" Erigor shot off, leaving the assassin in a dust cloud, "Ugh, fuck that guy…"

Erigor held the wounds on his ass and his stomach, well tried to as he also tried to play the Lullaby flute with the guild master meeting hall in sight, "Argh, that bastard Vincent, shooting me in the ass…" he complained, "Whatever, time to carry out my pl-" *WHACK* "HA, HOW'D THAT FEEL!?" Natsu shouted, standing over the fallen Erigor who was knocked out, "Damn, nice hit, I never should have doubted you." Vincent fist bumped the Dragon Slayer. "Yep, I'm happy you didn't kill him!" Natsu cheered, "Yeah, well, this time I can't go back on my word, I'll come with you." Vincent sighed, turning and facing Erza, "Yes you are!" she growled, "You're not gonna castrate me are you?" he asked, "No." Vincent sighed in relief. "What are you children doing here?" an old man's voice asked, Vincent turned to see an old man in an orange hat and jacket, "Makarov Dreyar…. You're the poor bastard they chose for Fairy Tail's master?" Vincent asked, grinning at Makarov, "Vincent Lucifer, the Devil himself." Makarov said, smiling nostalgically. "I see you have not changed, at all." Makarov observed, taking in the man before him, "Neither have you, eh Old Man?" Vincent shook his hand, "Only getting older, what brings you here? Why is such a dangerous man with my children?" Makarov questioned, eyeballing Hades, "Long story short, Titania evaded my bullet, taking me with her, kind of romantic if you think about it." His last comment made Erza blush, almost beet red, "Shut up…" she growled, "Erza is quite the fast one, what do you suppose she wants to do with you?" Makarov asked with an evil grin, "I'm unsure, maybe I'll get lucky and be her sexy butler, or unluckily become her sex slave, I wonder what armor she's got for that?" Vincent wondered, by this point Erza was steaming. "S-Shu… uhhh…" Erza was speechless, red as a tomato, Gray was red but snickering to himself, Natsu and Happy, the blue cat, were utterly confused and Lucy, the blond, was very red, "Hahaha! Holy hell, you guys are so embarrassed!" Vincent laughed, Makarov shared a laugh with him, "Yes, innocent aren't they?" **"I'M TIRED OF YOUR PETTY TALK, I SHALL DEVOUR YOU ALL HUMANS!"** the group watched as the Lullaby flute shot out magic, growing into a massive wooden monster. "What the fuck? Seriously, what the actual fuck?" Vincent gaped at the massive monster, he blocked out all the commotion as he thought to himself, _'Fuckin' Zeref, he left us a nice surprise, didn't the little bastard? Fuck that guy, I'd love to shoot him in the ass!'_ he realized that the Fairy Tail wizards were attacking the beast. "Leaving me out are you?" Vincent holstered Hades and jumped down onto the battle ground, "Vincent! Stay back!" Erza shouted, slashing a gash in the monster's arm, "Hey! I didn't say you could bark fuckin orders at me!" Vincent yelled with a tic-mark, he dropped down, setting his right hand on the ground, taking a wide stance with his legs, a gray magic circle appeared above him with a dragon head in the center. "You have magic?" Lucy asked, standing near-by, "Yeah, now back up." Vincent answered, gray energy shooting up around him as he charged his spell, everyone's eyes widened at his next words. **_"Smoke Dragon's…."_** "He's a Dragon Slayer!?" Natsu shouted, **_"Ethereal Fist!"_** his right fist coated in smoke, the magic circle shrunk and he moved his fist through it, hitting the Lullaby monster with a massive smoke fist, "Hahaha! How's that feel?" Vincent laughed as he landed. **"I will end you puny human!"** the beast roared throwing its hand down onto Vincent, crushing him, _"Hahah….."_ Vincent's voice laughed, echoing from everywhere, **_"Smoke Dragon's Ethereal Form._** _Makes me a ghost, I'm made of smoke now."_ He seemed to be everywhere as a fog of smoke set across the field, "Such power is rare…" Makarov mumbled, seeing the smoke everywhere, _"I'm not a powerful Dragon Slayer, my powers are better used for deception and reconnaissance, Natsu, it's up to you to blow this thing away."_ Vincent explained, the smoke getting thicker and thicker, wafting up and blocking the monster's vision. **_"Smokescreen."_** Vincent called, the smoke nearly covered the whole Lullaby demon, "I guess that's my cue! **_With the flames of my left hand and the flames of my right hand, put them together and you get: Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"_** Natsu launched his massive ball of fire through the smoke, surprising the demon. **"WHAT?! NOOOOO!"** there was a massive explosion, dissipating the smoke and throwing Vincent out of his ethereal form, slamming the assassin into a rock wall, "Ugh… fuck me…" he groaned, his consciousness slowly slipping away, "Vincent! Vincent!" someone was calling to him but he couldn't respond as he blacked out.

"Fuckin shit cock…" Vincent groaned, cursing loudly, sitting up on the bed, his attention was drawn to the pink haired old lady sitting next to him, "Oh, hello madam!" Vincent grinned, "Shut up, you're ignorance got you injured and made me have to come and patch up a small scratch! Stupid human!" the old lady got up and left with a huff. "Well fuck you too!" Vincent snapped after she left, "Dumb bitch, where's my shirt?" he got up and found his shirt and sport coat hanging up, putting them on and finding Hades on the table next to him. A knock on the door made him pull Hades, loading it and pulling the slide to load a round, "Yes?" the door opened to reveal Erza, "Oh, it's you." Vincent holstered Hades, "Yeah, how do you feel?" Erza asked, closing the door softly, "I'm fine, since I'm in your guildhall, what do you plan to do with me?" he questioned, eyeing her closely. "Well, I already discussed that with Master Makarov." Erza said, crossing her arms, "So, I'm your sex slave?" she sputtered at his question, "What!? NO!" Vincent chuckled at her red face, "Not that I'd mind, you're pretty sexy…" he trailed off, making her turn a darker shade of red. Erza blabbed a bunch of random words, stuttering and eventually stopping, "Damn, a few comments about your bod and you're a sputtering mess! So what were you planning on doing?" Vincent inquired, "W-Well, we decided you should join Fairy Tail."

 _'_ _Fuck this shit, at least everyone in the dark guilds were dull and quiet, these guys are fucking insane!'_ Vincent screamed internally, sitting at the bar with a cup of bourbon, sipping at it gingerly, he looked at the guild mark on his forearm, his coat was on the stool next to him and his shirt sleeves were rolled up. His mark was grey, the head being near the inside of his elbow on his left arm, Hades had a small mark etched into it as well, sitting on the bar before him, "More bourbon please…" he mumbled, holding his now empty glass up. When no response came he saw that everyone had gotten up and walked outside, grabbing his coat he followed them, hanging his coat over his left shoulder with his hand, "Hey, what the fuck's happening that's preventing me from getting drunk?" he asked, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. Vincent saw Erza and Natsu facing off in the center of the crowd, looking around he saw the betting board, none betting on Natsu, "Seems the odds are stacked against him… HEY!" he shouted, catching everyone's attention, "I call fighting her next!" the majority of them blinked at him and started whispering about his demise. "Hey, fuck you! I've defied death so many times, it ain't even funny!" Vincent shouted at everyone, "Who let him in?" someone asked, "Titania did! Now shut it!" he shouted again, "I let him in as well, he's an old friend." Makarov put in, walking to the center of the circle. "Now let's start this fight, I want a clean fight, round one begins… NOW!" Makarov jumped off to the side quickly, landing by Vincent, "Thanks for that, I'm… not a nice guy, usually, never really was." Vincent said sadly. "You never know, someday you could change, someone or something could change you. Just think about it, did you really want to kill Erza back at that train station?" Makarov questioned, "No, not really…" Vincent trailed off, "Do you think just the sight of her changed you?" Makarov asked, "I'm… not sure, the thought of it, I couldn't stand it…. Killing someone who I knew wouldn't kill me and would even be my friend…." He mumbled, scratching his chin, "Use that not so nice guy on the people who deserve it, not the people who gave you a different path to walk." Makarov advised, "Yeah… sounds, good." Vincent smiled, actually smiled, warmly, showing off his sharp canines, suddenly, the sound of a gong broke everyone away from the fight, even the fighters. "This fight is over by the order of the magic council!" a toad woman shouted, "HEY, FUCK YOU! THIS FIGHT WAS GETTING GOOD!" Vincent yelled, flipping the toad off, "Quiet boy! I'll have you arrested for interfering in-" "I don't give two fucks! Go pull that stick out of your ass and we'll talk!" the assassin cut her off with a snap, again flipping her off. "Fine, guards, arrest both this trouble maker and Erza Scarlet, she is under arrest for the destruction of the Clover meeting hall!" the toad ordered, several guards moved forward, then stopped at a clicking sound, "Move any closer and you're all dead." Vincent threatened with malice, his finger on the trigger of Hades, "Madam, that's Hades, the owner, Vincent Lucifer." One guard said shakily, "I don't care! Get-" Vincent shot into the air, "Fuck off toad bitch!" he shouted, "Vincent!" Erza shouted, making him look at her, "Don't worry. Let Vincent go, I'll go with you." Erza negotiated, standing in the way, "Fine, Vincent Lucifer, we shall be back for you!" the toad woman yelled, "Try me bitch!" Vincent yelled, watching them take Erza away. "Holy crap, I've never seen someone stand up to the magic council like that…" someone mumbled, "Lucifer? Like the Devil?" someone else whispered, Vincent huffed and walked in the direction of where the council took Erza, "Where are you going Vincent?" Makarov called, "Just going out, probably look for a place to stay!" Vincent shouted back, Makarov knew exactly what he was going to do, "Such a troublesome young man…"

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DA DA DA DA DONE! Bam, I love this guy, Vincent Lucifer, the asshole assassin! LOLZ

See ya next time with more Collateral Damage!

SO WHO'S THIS FUCKER!?

Me: Zeke, he's Vincent Lucifer, the Smoke Dragon Slayer…

Zeke: Whatever, as long as he doesn't copy me!

Me: Alright, no problem.

Zeke: Damn right no problem!


	2. Two: Screw the Council

Chapter Two

Screw the Council

"Talk" _'Think'_ _ **"Spells"**_

Vincent walked through the dungeon of the Magic Council branch in Fiore, screwing a silencer onto a different pistol, it was a 9mm Beretta pistol, it was black and he loaded a double stacked magazine into the gun, unlocking the slide with a click. "Ah, I love this gun, Hecate, the silent death gun." Vincent whispered, he followed a delightful scent of strawberries and vanilla down the stairs to the lower dungeon, walking right past two guards, "Hey you!" Vincent spun around, taking a knee and popping them several times through their armor, they keeled, hitting the ground unconscious. "Tranquilizing armor piercing rounds. Expensive but necessary." Vincent sighed, continuing on his path, finding the cage he was looking for, it had one sleepy guard by it, "Seems I knocked out his shift change." Vincent tossed an empty magazine at him, "Catch!" "What!?" the guard looked up, Vincent grinned and shot him a few times, dropping the guard instantly. "Dumbass." Vincent chuckled, picking up his empty mag and holstering his gun in an underarm holster on his left side, "Holy hell! Did you kill him!?" Erza shouted, grabbing the bars violently, "No, as much I wanted to, I didn't." Vincent answered with a sigh, looking over the bars that held her in. "Well, I didn't bring anything strong enough to break these bars so… **_Smoke Dragon's Ethereal Form."_** Vincent turned into transparent smoke, wafting through the bars and reforming behind Erza before picking her up in a bride carry, "What are you doing?!" she panicked, trying to get out of his surprisingly powerful grasp, "Don't freak out drama queen." Vincent sighed, changing them both into smoke before moving through the bars again. "Whoa…" Erza gasped in awe when they reformed, Vincent let her down and started walking away, "Let's go, the other guards and such are still knocked out, they aren't getting up till tomorrow, horse tranquilizer in low doses!" Vincent laughed, walking towards the dungeon exit, "Uhh….. wait up!" Erza ran after him, catching up as he exited the dungeon.

The guild doors burst open, startling everyone inside, "Hey Makarov! Guess what? Instead of finding a nice place to crash, I found the Titania in a jail cell! What a find eh!?" Vincent called out, walking into the guild with the redheaded swordswoman, "That is odd, but all I'm happy about is that she's back." Makarov said, smiling at the pair, up until Vincent turned and left. "Well, I'm gonna go search again! See you later!" the Smoke Dragon Slayer left, vanishing into the daylight, someone else appeared in the morning shadow and everyone started falling asleep, Mystogan walked over to the guild board, tearing a job off and approaching Makarov, "I'll take this one." He mumbled, Makarov looked up, "Lift your spell…" he requested of the tall wizard, Mystogan counted down as he left the guild hall, disappearing into the light.

"Fancy sleep spell." Vincent commented as he reformed next to Mystogan, "Vincent Lucifer. Good and not good to see you." Mystogan said, looking warily at the Slayer, "Hehe, same. I'll let you hurry on out of here, sounds like that fake Dragon Slayer I sensed is making trouble." Vincent turned ethereal again and vanished, leaving Mystogan to himself.

Vincent reappeared behind the large blond man in a big coat, he was leaning on the railing, shouting about how he was the strongest in Fairy Tail, Vincent walked right up behind him, grabbing him by the face, kicking his legs out and slamming his head into the floor before vanishing into smoke. Laxus stood up, fuming in anger as the guild members snickered below him, "WHO DID THAT!?" he roared, looking around, finding his attacker nowhere near him, there was an eerie, ghostly chuckle that faded away, making the hairs on his neck stand on end. "W-Who's there?" Laxus asked, whipping his head around, the only thing he heard were fading footsteps, making him shiver in pure fear.

 _Several Days Later, After the Galuna Arc:_

Erza walked down a street in Magnolia, she had learned of the disappeared Vincent's whereabouts, he was in a rundown motel near the edge of the city, somehow he had found the bad part of Magnolia and was staying there for some odd reason, the 'bad' part was really just a rundown portion of the city. She found the old motel and went to the front desk, "Hello, I'm looking for a man named Vincent. Is he here?" she asked, the old man at the desk looked up and grinned, "Yep, that lady killer is in room nine, have fun." She was slightly confused by the man's comment but went down to Vincent's room, "OH YES, FUCK ME!" a female voice shouted, making Erza freeze in her tracks, "You like it in your ass?! Huh!?" Vincent's voice shouted, the armored wizard's ears picked up slapping noises and loud moans. "FUCK YES, FUCK MY ASS VINNIE!" the woman's voice screamed, "FUCK, I'M GONNA COME IN YOUR ASS!" Vincent shouted with a groan, "YES, COME IN MY TIGHT ASSHOLE!" the girl screamed again, she heard Vincent almost roar as the girl screamed in pure ecstasy, after a few seconds, the noise stopped. "He's an animal… such, indecent acts…" Erza's head was filled with thoughts of what he could be doing, her mind stuck in the gutter, replacing her with the girl in the room she was standing outside of, "No! I can't be thinking such thoughts!" she shook herself out of her stupor, "And what thoughts would that be?" she froze at Vincent's smooth voice in front of her. "Uhhh….." Erza stared at the one called 'Vinnie' by his 'partner' as he stood in the doorway, his shirt missing as he buckled his brown leather belt, "Haha, nothing to share? That's fine, I can guess by what you heard." Vincent chuckled, fixing the holster Hades sat in on the back of his hip, "Um, Vincent, I came by to talk… but it seems you-" he cut her off, "No, it's fine, come in." The assassin stepped to the side, letting her pass into the room with caution, "Hi!" the girl in the bed chirped, the covers hiding everything but her head and arms from view, "Ah, Erza, this is my associate I met through my past jobs, she's a dead target's widow, not collateral damage because she liked me! Her name's Ava, Ava Erza, Erza Ava, Erza is my new guild mate that brought me here." The two women looked at each other for a few seconds, Ava was a dark, wavy haired girl with diamond blue eyes, her face was cute and pretty, other than that Erza couldn't see anything else, "If you're wondering, Ava has a rocking body." Vincent whispered, grinning as he went over and sat on the bed. "Uhh… anyway, what I wanted to tell you was that the guild was attacked by our rival, Phantom Lord." Erza gained her composure, crossing her arms, "Well, fancy that, I knocked out one of their little punks the other day for trying to flirt with my woman." Vincent gestured to Ava, "Yeah, he was so cool, the little punk was pushing me around when my boo bear Vinnie came out of nowhere and punched him out!" she swung her hands wildly, making the covers fall down. Erza blushed and looked away, Ava's large breasts jiggled as she kept swinging her hands, "Ava, you're giant tits are out." Vincent pointed out, "Oh, I don't mind." Ava shrugged, crossing her arms under her large bust, "Erza does." Vincent pointed out, gesturing to the embarrassed knight. "Oh! I'm sorry!" Ava pulled the sheet back up, "It's okay…" she mumbled, "Well, I'll be at the guild soon, I had to take a few days to satisfy my extreme libido with my beautiful girl here." Vincent said, leaning over and kissing her on the lips, "W-Well, I'll be leaving now… nice meeting you!" Erza was about to walk out when Vincent stopped her. "We were gonna go another round, feel like joining?" the Dragon Slayer asked, making Erza stop in her tracks, "Vinnie! Don't do that!" Ava whacked him on the shoulder, "I'm kidding!" Vincent laughed, blocking her attacks, Erza shook her head and left.

Vincent was walking down the market street with Ava, her large bust was basically stuffed into a blouse, tucked into tight, black jeans that showed off her curves, and her big, heart-shaped ass that Vincent's right hand was grasping. "Quit groping me." Ava slapped his hand away, "We're in public!" she chided, poking him in the forehead, "Aw come on!" Vincent complained, putting an arm around her, "No." Ava said sternly, "Damn it…" the assassin groaned, his head drooping in depression. "Can't you see the thrill of doing it in an alley or something, thrill of getting caught?" Vincent whispered in her ear, she shoved him off, "God! I can't stand how pushy you are about that! Why are you so hard up!?" Ava basically shouted, making a few people look their way, Vincent growled. "Because I'm a Dragon Slayer, my libido is just as high as any of the others, I'm just really lusting because of you, I don't know anyone else with your body but, you can't seem to put up with me!" he snapped, growling a bit, "You're right, I can't Vincent. Go back to the guild, I'll be on my way, asshole." Ava spat with venom, walking off, Vincent stood in slight shock, she hit home by calling him by his full name, and her end remark didn't help either. "God damn it!" Vincent screamed, several people looked at him, "WHAT!?" he roared, gray magic flowing off of him, he got them scared before taking off with fiery smoke, flying towards the guildhall.

Vincent burst through the big doors of the guildhall, he maneuvered around the iron pillars everywhere, "Do these Phantom Fuckers like fucking buildings with giant dildos? That's what this shit looks like!" he shouted, kicking open the basement doors. All of his injured guild mates looked his way, "The fuck happened?!" Vincent shouted, "Phantom, we went to their guild hall and got beaten, the Master was injured badly." Erza explained, walking up to the enraged assassin. "Is he alive?" Vincent questioned, everyone nodded, "Are you guys alive?" again they nodded, "Then that's all that matters, if they come back again, we'll have twice the anger and conviction to kick their asses!" he shouted, getting a round of cheers from everyone. "Vincent, you should know why their attacking us." Erza said, her spirits were lifted by his words but she was still upset, she led him over to the emotional Lucy, "Lucy is the Heartfilia family heir, her father hired Phantom to retrieve her." Erza explained, looking sadly at the blond celestial wizard. "In this situation, I normally would have no problem handing her over but!" Vincent exclaimed, making the ones glaring at him stop, "I know how you guys think, you'll fight to the death for your friends, then come back from the dead to keep them happy." Vincent grinned, "So, I guess I'll open a can of whop ass on them." He grinned at Lucy, "Don't worry about them, you're not going anywhere." Vincent promised, "Wow, such conviction, too bad you already got your asses handed to you!" Laxus laughed from the communication orb, "Hey, fuck you." Vincent drew Hades and blasted the orb, scaring the white haired girl who was glaring at it. "My, you scared me…." she trailed off, seeing the handsome man in his fullest for the first time, "Sorry about that, huh... have we met?" Vincent asked with a grin, holstering Hades and holding his hand out, "No, I saw you at the bar though, I'm Mirajane!" she chirped happily, putting her hand in his. "Mirajane, beautiful…" Vincent trailed off, kissing her hand, Mirajane giggled and blushed, "I'm Vincent Lucifer, not to be alarmed, I'm not actually Lucifer, people do call me the Devil himself." Vincent introduced, a devilish grin making its way onto his face, "Well, we should get along, just… fine." Mirajane tapped him on the nose, getting up and attending to the bar. Vincent grinned to himself, _'Damn, her body is even better than Ava's…. I think I got a conquest before me!'_ a loud thundering sound shook him from his thoughts, "The fuck!?" he turned ethereal and moved outside past everyone, _"You have got to be fucking kidding me!"_

Vincent gaped at the massive structure before him, it was the Phantom Lord headquarters on legs, a large cannon extending from the front. Vincent turned ethereal and took off for the structure, _'It will be easier to incapacitate their guild master first and the rest will follow.'_ He set his plan in motion when he sifted through the cracks in windows, getting into the building and reforming, he took Hecate out, loading live rounds into the gun and set off, sneaking though the enemy headquarters. "Look who I found!" a voice cackled, making Vincent freeze in place, a figure emerging from the shadows, he was dressed oddly and had black and white hair, a samurai sword on his hip as he stood in full view of the assassin. "An intruder with a gun, you wouldn't happen to be with those Fairies would you?" the man asked, "Wouldn't you like to know, Totomaru?" Vincent grinned, "Hmm, you know me, yet I do not know you. It does not matter though, I will kill you either way." Totomaru drew his sword, lighting it ablaze. "Well, that's fancy." Vincent fired two shots, both being deflected by Totomaru as he dashed toward the assassin and swung for his head, the blade of fire phased through, "My turn." Vincent grabbed Totomaru's wrists, breaking both of them with a quick snap, "AHGGR!" he dropped his sword and the flames went out, looking at his bloody broken wrists. "H-How?" Totomaru asked, "I'm Vincent Lucifer, nice to meet you." Vincent roundhouse kicked him in the side before smashing his elbow into where the shoulder met the neck, knocking Totomaru out instantly, "Don't think I haven't fought swordsmen before, a lot of them were like you, cocky." Vincent kicked the downed man before fixing his coat and hair, walking away.

Jose was confident, very confident, up until Gajeel had come and told him about an intruder who took out Totomaru without trouble. "One of the element four, defeated like a normal grunt… can you track the intruder?" Jose questioned, "No, all I smell is smoke, taking up any kind of scent that I could track." Gajeel's gruff voice answered from the shadows, "Odd, have you ever heard of smoke magic like that?" Jose wondered, "I hear one of the Fairies can, but not to this extreme." The iron studded man walked out of the shadows, sniffing the air, "The smoke smell is strong, he might be close." Gajeel took a defensive stance, "Hmm, I heard of an underground assassin who could disappear like a ghost, the Devil himself." Jose smiled darkly. "Gajeel, go protect our hostage you retrieved, I will deal with the Devil." Jose stated, Gajeel reluctantly left, Jose stood in silence, the smell of smoke everywhere, taking away some of his oxygen, "Let's see, are you really the Devil? Or just a scared man with a pellet shooter?" Jose taunted, he heard the pop he was expecting, stepping to the side, but that's what Vincent wanted. Jose screamed in pain as the bullet ripped through his knee, dropping him to the ground as he held his destroyed knee, "How did you not see that coming?" Vincent wondered, hopping down from the rafters, "You bastard!" Jose growled, "I know. People tell me that all the time, but you know what? I don't care." Vincent grinned, blowing the silencer on Hecate. "I'll kill you!" Jose fired a blast of dark magic at Vincent, blasting him into a wall, or so he thought, all he saw was a pile of smoking ash, the real Vincent walked out of where he was hiding, going through the ash and pulling Hecate out, dusting it off. "That was rude." Vincent commented, holstering Hecate and sitting on Jose's chair, "My new guild mates are raiding this shithole as we speak. I hope you're ready to lose this fight!" he explained with a taunt, Jose snarled at him, "We will take your shitty guild down." The assassin chuckled, "How?" Jose smirked, "Gajeel and the rest of the Element Four will stop your petty attempt at fighting back!" Vincent started laughing, "Hahaha, as if, your water will be frozen…" the building shook, "Stone shattered…" there was an explosion from near-by, "And steel will melt." The other side of the building blew up, "You're cannon was only effective on a singular person, converting this thing to a giant robot and trying to cast **_Abyss Break_** was a stupid idea, I had already incapacitated your fire magic fuel, and your other magic fuel wouldn't be enough. How did you think your plan would work in the first place? You were fighting an unknown enemy that had infiltrated your base and you thought that one moron would do? Fool." The Smoke Slayer said, "Ah, but I have a hostage!" Jose exclaimed, a victorious grin on his face, "And? Gajeel is getting his ass handed to him." Vincent said as if it was obvious, "But, what about the little white haired girl that my robot is crushing?" Jose asked, gesturing out the window. "Hmm, guess so, stay here asshole." Vincent swapped the magazines in Hecate, shooting Jose in the other knee, breaking that one as well, Jose didn't scream though, only passed out from the tranquilizer, Vincent holstered Hecate and kicked the window out, turning into smoke.

Mirajane groaned in pain, the robot's grip getting stronger, "Need a hand?" she looked up and saw Vincent standing there, "Vincent! How-" "Don't question it, you'll see in a second, take my hand!" Vincent cut her off, Mirajane took his hand and he made them turn ethereal, the robot's fingers smashed into each other as Vincent turned them back, holding Mirajane in his arms. "Wow… that was amazing…" Mirajane looked at Vincent in awe, "I'll explain later!" he turned and saw a massive monster behind him, "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Vincent held Mirajane in one arm while he drew Hades, "Wait! That's Elfman, my brother!" Mirajane shouted, confusing the shit out of Vincent. "Takeover?" he wondered, "Yes, we both use **_Take Over Magic,_** he achieved taking over a beast soul." Mirajane explained, smiling at the beast as its eyes turned back to normal and he smiled, "Thank you for helping my sister Vincent, everyone says you're not nice but, saving my sister tells me otherwise." Elfman thanked him, taking his sister into one of his arms. Something about what Elfman said made Vincent shiver oddly, something about how he was thanked for being nice made him feel, happy, warm almost, "The hell…" Vincent felt his chest, "Are you alright?" Mirajane asked with a worried tone, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Let's go inside…"

Makarov stood over the beaten Jose who slept soundly on the cold steel of his robot, "How did you do it?" the old wizard asked, looking to his left at Vincent who stood next to him, "I concealed myself in the shadows, stopping any tracking abilities of their Dragon Slayer by using my **_Smoke Magic_** and muffled my footsteps while distracting his nose with the smell. The smoke also concealed my magic signature." Vincent explained, poking Jose. "Hey, wake up jackass." Jose started awake, "Ugh…" the Phantom master groaned, "Hello Jose." Makarov greeted, "Ugh, you Fairies haven't won yet…" Jose groaned, trying to charge a spell, up until Vincent's foot connected with his junk. "I don't think so, you can lie around in pain or admit defeat." Vincent offered, "Screw you! OUWWW!" Jose screamed in pain as Vincent crunched his broken knee, "Make a choice Jose, my friend here is quite the brutal negotiator." Makarov advised, not really enjoying Vincent's tactics. "Never!" Jose shouted, trying to charge his power, Vincent rolled his eyes, punching Jose in the face, "Let's try this!" he threw the stunned wizard against the wall, Vincent opened a gray magic circle in front of his face and cocked his head back, **_"Smoke Dragon's…."_** his cheeks swelled, **_"ROAR!"_** Vincent unleashed a black, flaming smoke stream from his mouth through the magic circle, colliding with Jose and blasting him out the front of his robot. "I didn't know you used fire with your smoke." Makarov said with surprise, "It's how the smoke magic is possible, Natsu could technically consume my magic but, it would reject him and he would dissipate into smoke, so, he would cough it up automatically. The fire is minimal though, it does help in a fight." Vincent explained, grinning at the crowd around Jose's toasted body lying before the guild. "The council's going to be flipping out over this." Makarov sighed, shivering at the thought, "Yeah well, you know what?" Vincent grinned, Makarov rose a brow, "Screw the council."

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BAM! Done, what do you think? Does Vincent deserve the way he was treated? Does he treat others like that?

See you next time with more Collateral Damage!

Wow, that bitch blew him off… and she was banging him earlier!

Me: I know Zeke, I kind of wrote it.

Zeke: Yeah, what about those other things you were working on?

Me: Quiet.

Zeke: Hehehehehehehehehe!

Me: *Sigh*


	3. Three: Ghost in the Smoke

Chapter Three

Ghost in the Smoke

"Talk" _'Think'_ _ **"Spells"**_

Vincent sat at the bar, blowing smoke from a cigar and consuming it like food, he then took a drink of bourbon, watching the lovely white haired bar maid work as the new guild hall was being built around them. "Hey, why don't you help work huh?" someone asked behind him, it was Laxus, the man he slammed into the ground a while back, he was towering over Vincent with an evil grin. Vincent turned all the way around and blew smoke into Laxus' face, "Because, I have no idea how to build anything… yeah, shocking right? The giant asshole Vincent doesn't know how to hold a fucking hammer, gods fucking smite his ass! Mock the shit out of him! Go for it!" Vincent yelled, heavy sarcasm laced his voice. "Jeez, cool off man… I don't care if you're an idiot, I want to know if you actually beat Jose." Laxus said, taking a seat on a near-by bench, "I did, he was a real piece of work." Vincent stated, taking a swig of his drink, "How? You don't even look like you can fight!" Laxus laughed, "I fucking blew his kneecaps out with this." Vincent drew Hecate out from under his coat. "Really? You shot him? Oh right! Then you hugged him and stole his heart!" Laxus laughed, "How ignorant… fuck you." Vincent shot the earphones right off of Laxus' head with one bullet that tore them in two. "Uh…" Laxus blinked, shocked by Vincent, "Believe me now asshole? Fuck outta here with your bullshit." Vincent told him, turning back around and finishing his drink, "Alright, I believe you… what I can't believe is that the rest of you got your asses kicked the first time and Mira begged for my help!" Laxus started on the other guild members. "…Laxus… don't you remember what I said to you before shooting the lacrima she was talking to you through?" Vincent asked, "No, why?" Laxus asked, stopping his rant, "I said…" Vincent started, vanishing in a puff of smoke, "Fuck you." He reappeared in front of Laxus with a fiery, black smoke coated hand cocked back, **_"Smoke Dragon's Flame Fist!"_** he called, punching Laxus in the gut and sending him flying through a half-made wall, "Goddamn moron is what he is." Vincent growled, the flame on his hand going out, "Wow, I never seen someone stand up to Laxus like that…" Mira trailed off, catching Vincent's attention, "Yeah, well, he needed it… damn punk, I'll kick his ass next time!" he exclaimed, making some other members and Makarov himself give the Smoke Slayer doubtful looks. "I hope so, Laxus deserves it!" Mira exclaimed, seemingly the only one who didn't doubt Vincent, "Yeah!" "GRAHHHH! I'LL KILL YOU VINCENT!" Laxus screamed, exploding behind Vincent with lightning, "Oh shit…" Vincent was able to bring his arm up and block the lightning infused punch aimed for his head, but it still blasted him through several walls. "Ugh… damn it…" Vincent groaned, getting up and dusting himself off, "COME ON, WE'RE GOING TO SETTLE THIS RIGHT NOW!" Laxus yelled, suddenly grabbing Vincent and throwing him out onto the beach.

Vincent rolled to a stop on his knee, Laxus landed in front of him and the guild gathered to watch, _'Why isn't Makarov stopping this idiot? He knows my magic isn't strong enough to compete with even an S-Class… let alone an enraged fake Lightning Slayer…'_ he thought, looking around for an exit. "Fuck me… fuck me… why did I hit him? Is it the booze?" Vincent grumbled to himself, **_"Lightning Bolt!"_** Laxus yelled, blasting a massive bolt of lightning at Vincent, "Shit!" he rolled out of the way before turning ethereal, "Where's he go!?" Laxus yelled, looking around frantically. _'I can't stay like this for long… the spell is designed for short lengths of time… FUCK!'_ Vincent screamed internally, he slowly started to form back together after a few minutes, he tried to think of a way to win. "There you are! **_Lightning Orbs!"_** Laxus fired balls of lightning at Vincent's forming body, "SHIT **_Smokescreen!"_** the beach was coated in a missive fog of grey smoke, the blast of Laxus' attack getting lost in the haze. "Where are you now? You can't hide for long!" Laxus shouted, peering into the haze, **_"Smoke Dragon's Talon!"_** a flame and black smoke coated foot connected with Laxus' side, sending him into a different part of the smokescreen. "Grrrr… **_Lightning Blast!"_** Laxus shot lightning into the center of the haze, blowing the smoke away and revealing Vincent halfway down the beach, he was sprinting at full speed, "COWARD!" Laxus screamed, using his **_Lightning Body_** he flew after Vincent, "Shit! Shit!" Vincent cursed, looking over his shoulder at the lightning that was catching up to him. "Think Vinnie think!" he yelled, he then drew Hades and stopped running, "DIE!" Laxus turned back to normal and dropped on Vincent with a fist of lightning, Vincent spun around, dropping on one knee and in one fluid motion, shot Laxus in the left knee, left shoulder, and right arm, making Laxus stop his attack and face plant in front of Vincent with a thud. "You're lucky those were rubber bullets…" Vincent breathed, resting on his knees, "Ughh… it's not over…" Laxus grunted, slowly pushing up off of the ground, "No, no, no!" Vincent swapped the magazine on Hades for live rounds, "If you stand up I will shoot you in the crotch with an actual bullet!" he yelled, standing up and training Hades on Laxus. "That's enough! Laxus, go cool off somewhere else." Makarov said, floating down between the two, Vincent holstered Hades and slowly headed back towards the guild, "Vincent, don't ever put a bullet in my grandson or anyone else from this guild, do you hear me?" Makarov asked, making Vincent stop, "Yes, I do… sorry…" Vincent kept going after answering, vanishing in a blast of grey smoke.

The Smoke Slayer reappeared by the bar, chugging down the last of his bourbon, "More bourbon please…" he grumbled, holding the glass up and resting his head on the bar, "Vincent, why did you run away from Laxus like that?" Mira asked as she refilled his drink. "I'll tell you the truth sweetheart, I'm not all that magically strong, don't get me wrong, if he wasn't a walking battery I'd kick his ass… but the Smoke Dragon Slayer was never a strong one… my dragon wasn't that strong either…" Vincent admitted, sitting up and downing his glass. "I think I'll just take the whole bottle… my fucking arm hurts like a bitch…" he groaned, "Why didn't you just back out? Why did you fight him?" Mira asked, refilling his drink again, "Because I'm an egotistical asshole with low self-esteem and a broken heart… I'm not repairable so don't even try… I try to be nice but everything I do ends in a shithole at the bottom of a booze bottle…" Vincent sighed, downing his glass. Mira watched him wallow in his own self-pity for a moment before setting the bottle down and heading off to help other people, _'He says he can't be fixed... I believe he can, don't worry Vincent, I can fix you, no one should hate themselves…'_ she thought with a suspicious smile, "Now what are you plotting?" Gray asked, seeing the smile on Mira's face, "Oh nothing!~" she sang, waltzing away, "Oh boy… this can't end well…"

 _Later That Night…_

"Imma… Imma go out herr and beat a fucker! With my fuckin cock! YOU HEARR ME… what was I going to say…?" Vincent stumbled out of the guild, an empty bourbon bottle in his hand, "Vincent, you're drunk, don't wander off." Mira advised, locking the guild doors behind them. "I'll dooo wutever the healll I want!" Vincent slurred, stumbling around and tossing the bottle in an alleyway, "No you won't. Where's your place at?" Mira asked, "I got kicked out the other day because I didn't pay the rent… I slept on a roof last night…" Vincent mumbled, stumbling over and leaning on her. "Okay, come on, you can stay at my place, don't worry about Elfman, I'll take care of him." Mira said, putting an arm around Vincent and starting to walk, "Ohh reaaallllly!? Thanks Mira! I like you… you're nice! Not like those other bastards! Did I ever tell you how I killed sixty people in one night?" Vincent rambled, stumbling along with her. "No, I don't really care to know…" Mira sighed, "NO, no, see, I had one too many and I kind of started a bar fight… most of them were weak little thugs…" again Mira sighed as she listened to Vincent's drunken rabble, all the way back to her house.

"And then I went, WAPOW and kicked the little guy in the tiny weeny dick! HAHAHA!" Vincent laughed at his own tale, leaning on the front porch of Mira's nice and large house, "Ye get it…? Cause he's small so he had a small dick…?" he was slowly falling asleep as Mira unlocked the door and drug him in, laying the now passed out Vincent on the couch. "Oh boy, what have I got myself into?" Mira sighed, taking Vincent's shoes, coat and shirt off, he didn't have an undershirt, showing his muscular and scarred torso, "Mira? Why are you home so late? What's Vincent doing here?" Elfman asked, coming down the staircase in white pajamas. "Vincent got drunk and was kicked out of his place the other day, I said he could stay here, okay?" Mira gave Elfman a look, "I don't mind, I owe him for helping you when Phantom captured you." Elfman said with a smile, "Good, he needs someone who cares for him, we're going to be that someone. Come on, let's get some sleep."

 _Early in the morning…_

Vincent groaned and wiped his mouth as he sat up off the couch, a pink blanket fell down and revealed his chiseled and taut torso with several deep and noticeable scars, "What the? Where am I? Where's my shirt? AND my pants!?" he exclaimed, finding only his white boxers on, "They're in the wash, here." Mira walked up behind him and gave him a pair of black sweatpants. "Huh? Mira? Oh shit… how drunk was I?" Vincent sighed, holding his head in his hand, "You exclaimed that you were going to beat someone with your penis." Mira told him, "Oh… oh… oh… I'm so sorry you had to experience that… I owe you one." Vincent said, putting the pants on and standing up. "No, you don't owe me anything, I'm helping you because you helped me and everyone else at Fairy Tail, we help each other, we're family." Mira explained, smiling at Vincent, "Oh, thanks… does that mean I get to eat here too?" he asked with a hopeful look, "Yes." Mira answered, "Awesome… it already smells like food heaven… take me to Flavortown!" Vincent exclaimed, running into the kitchen and finding a spot at the table. "Morning Vincent!" Elfman greeted, "What? Oh, morning." Vincent replied, more focused on the food in front of him, "For a guy who passed out drunk you seem really energetic." Elfman commented, "I'm just trying to ignore the pounding headache I have…" Vincent explained, slowly gathering a mountain of food together. "I guess all Dragon Slayers are alike in some way…" Mira giggled sitting down across from Vincent, "Yeah, we eat a lot… more than necessary actually…" Vincent said, he stopped piling food and began to devour all of it in a short time span, he was done before Elfman or Mira was and belched quite a bit, "Excuse me… mind if I take a shower? I'll need my clothes…" Vincent rubbed his full stomach. "I'll get them while you're in the shower, it's upstairs at the end of the hall." Mira told him, Vincent grinned before getting up, "Thank you, it was quite delicious!" he bowed before leaving the room.

Vincent slowly approached the door at the end of the hall and noticed the closed door on his right with an old sign on it, "Lisanna? Who could that be?" he touched the doorknob smoke clouded his vision as images and sounds flew around his senses…

 _Flashback…_

Vincent was an apparition as he watched a massive monster tear apart a forest, two white haired girls were pursuing it, one he recognized as Mira and the other, _'That must be Lisanna…'_ he concluded, Lisanna stood before the beast, her arms stretched wide, he couldn't hear her but the sound of the monster's hand connecting with her small frame was clear and evident along with Mira's scream. His eyes were stuck wide open with shock as the memory slowly faded away…

 _Flashback End…_

Vincent let go of the doorknob and leaned on the bathroom door, his blank blue-grey eyes staring into the floor, _'…I'd better not bring it up… ever… even if I recognized the magic engulfing Lisanna…'_ he thought, "You know something… don't you?" Vincent nearly smashed his head into the door looking up at Mira who was across from him. "Um, I'm sorry?" Vincent rose an eyebrow, "I saw you touch the doorknob and zone out, what happened?" Mira demanded, "Okay… I'm sorry, if I could have stopped it, I would but… my magic allows me to see visions of the past because it's recon based, so when I touch certain things I have no knowledge of, my magic will feed me a vision of the past…" Vincent explained, slumping against the door. "And?" Mira prodded, "All I saw was what you most likely told everyone else…" Vincent said, "Alright… I was going to tell you sooner or later but… now you owe me your sad backstory got it?" Mira asked, "Yeah, don't worry, when the time is right…" Vincent slowly entered the bathroom, closing the door with a sigh. _'Well then… I'm fucked, nice job jackass! You done fucked up again!'_ he screamed internally, starting up the shower and stripping down, he jumped in and let the warm water relax him.

Vincent sighed and grabbed the towel on the counter, drying and styling his hair, "Vincent, here's-" he looked up to see Mira stopped dead in the doorway, he followed her eyes downward, "Whoops!" he covered his lower half effectively. "Your clothes…" Mira finished, setting his clothes on the counter before slowly closing the door, her face a glowing red, "Well, that was awkward… for her anyway, I don't care, I'm hung like a bear." Vincent chuckled, drying off and getting changed, _'Now she knows what I want to stuff her with… this conquest is going flawlessly…'_

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What? DID VINCENT PLAN ALL OF THIS? Or is he being stupid and just thinking this is all going in his favor? WHO KNOWS? Oh wait, I do… HAHAHA YOU HAVE TO WAIT!

See you next time with more Collateral Damage!

I'm disappointed, why is he so weak?

Me: Because fuck you, he is.

Zeke: Well then… *Pulls dynamite*

Me: Oh fuck no…

Zeke: Yep.

Me: Shit.


	4. Four: One Last Contract

Chapter Four

One Last Contract

"Talk" _'Think'_ _ **"Spells"**_

Vincent came down the stairs, he looked and saw Mira sitting on the couch, Elfman nowhere to be found, "So, where's Elfman? Did he already leave?" Vincent asked, casually looking around with his hands in his pockets, "Yes, and before you ask, I have your handguns." Mira said, holding up Hades and Hecate. "Oh, thanks!" Vincent grinned as he reached for his weapons, Mira pulled them away before he could grab them though, "I don't want you using them." Mira said, giving Vincent a hard look, "What? I'll die without those two! Plus that's not a good idea…" he trailed off, watching Hades glow a bit. "Hades was made specifically for me, it has the loyal spirit of death in it, if it's separated from me for too long, it'll teleport to me automatically, see?" Vincent explained, holding Hades. "Really?" Mira sighed, she was now holding a wooden pistol, "Yep, and Hecate is my stealth pistol… I don't usually load live rounds in it anyway." Vincent explained, "Fine… but please, these should be a last resort…" Mira begged, curling Vincent's fingers around Hecate. "It'll be tough… I guess I can try and fight without them a bit more…" Vincent sighed, "But you have to understand… I was trained to use these…" he trailed off, "I know, I looked up who you are through my contacts, which was mostly Master Makarov." Mira smiled, still holding his hand, "Please Vincent, you can be a good person, you just need to learn…" Mira mumbled quietly. "Thanks Mira. Let's go, everyone's expecting the pretty barmaid to keep everything in order over there in that looney bin." Vincent grinned, fixing Hades and Hecate into their respective holsters, "I guess they are, and Vincent…" Mira called as he opened the door, "Yeah?" Vincent replied, looking back at her, "You're hair is messy." Mira giggled, Vincent made a noise of surprise before fixing his hair. "Goddammit! I hate it when this happens!" Vincent shouted as he walked down the street, fixing his hair, Mira laughed at him as she followed along by his side, all the way to the guild construction site…

Vincent grinned as he watched Mira run around the bar, working diligently, "Mira! Can we get more drinks!?" someone shouted, Vincent watched Mira sigh and get to work on the drinks, _'Maybe I just feel guilty… or I am nice…'_ Vincent thought, taking his coat off and rolling up his sleeves before vaulting the bar counter. "Mira, I've got the drinks, you get the food." Vincent stated as he took over pouring the drinks, "What? Vincent? It's fine really, I can get it." Mira said, "Nope, I already decided!" Vincent called as he served drinks, Mira smiled, "I knew he had it in him… or is trying to get under my skirt?" she mumbled to herself, "It's both." Vincent grinned as he walked past her. "Oh my…" Mira blushed a bit and got back to work, "Haha! Get a load of this! That drunk bastard Vincent's actually doing something!" Laxus laughed, pointing at Vincent, "Yeah, more than you are!" the assassin quipped, smashing Laxus' hand with the mug of beer he ordered. "AHG! You bastard!" Laxus growled, glaring at Vincent, "Oops!" Vincent laughed, walking back towards the bar, "I'll get you for that one you weakling!" Laxus shouted, sparking with lightning, "Yeah, yeah, shut up and drink." Vincent waved him off, getting to work on more drinks.

 _Later that day…_

"What's happening?" Vincent wondered as he sat on the bar, the whole construction zone empty, "Loke, one of our guild members up and left the guild abruptly!" Mira explained in panic, "Calm down, is that why everyone rushed out?" he asked, "Yes… can you find him?" Mira wondered, taking Vincent's hand, "Yes." He closed his eyes, "My smoke can track someone's magic signature for miles, even if they departed the day before, it's even better than my advanced sense of smell." Vincent explained, after a moment he opened his eyes, "It's fine, by the time we would've found him, Lucy would've found him, and she's who he needs right now…" he trailed off, leaving Mira confused. "What do you mean?" Mira asked, still holding Vincent's hand, "You'll see soon enough…" he said cryptically, pointing to a tall beam of light in the distance, "Feel that? Celestial magic, one of the most formidable magics, put a few Celestial Wizards together and you can seriously fuck someone up." Vincent explained, lighting a cigar. "I was actually about to tell you that you shouldn't smoke…" Mira admitted with a pathetic grin, "Do you know how hard I would've laughed?" Vincent asked, puffing out smoke, "I'm kind of an airhead sometimes…" Mira said sadly, hanging her head, "That's okay, it just makes you cute." Vincent smiled, patting her head, Mira blushed a bit and leaned out of his reach. "You don't mean that!" she cried, "No I do, don't sell yourself short just cause you're a bit of a dummy sometimes, we all are. Hehe, kind of ironic coming from a guy who degrades and berates himself…" Vincent chuckled, tapping the ash off his cigar. "It is, and you need to stop that!" Mira scolded, pointing a finger at him, "I know… thanks Mira." Vincent smiled, "You're welcome…" she said, handing him a cup of bourbon, "And don't drink so much either!" she added sharply. "Yeah… I don't want to repeat last night… I had a shitty headache today…" Vincent sighed, sipping his drink, "Hey Vincent… thank you for helping me today." Mira thanked, cleaning up the bar, "No problem, I felt like doing something…" he muttered into his glass. "Alright, I'm done for today, did you want to come back to my place Vincent?" Mira asked, Vincent almost choked on his drink. "Whoa, that was easy…" he choked, "No you dummy. I meant until you get another place." Mira said, killing Vincent's excitement, "Oh… yeah… that works…" he sighed in disappointment, "You can wait, take me on a date first and then we'll talk." Mira said with a wink. "Oh? Well, it's…" Vincent trailed off, checking a nice looking watch on his left wrist, "Only eight, how about dinner? My treat!" he grinned, putting out his cigar and downing the last of his drink, "Hmm… alright, let's go then." Mira agreed, coming around the bar. "Awesome!" Vincent exclaimed, jumping off the bar and grabbing his sport coat, putting it on and extending his elbow to Mira, "Milady?" he asked, "Oh thank you kind sir!" Mira giggled, putting her arm around his, letting him lead her out into the street…

"Welcome! Two then?" a server at a nice restaurant asked, picking up menus, "Yes, thank you." Vincent replied, he and Mira followed the server to a reclusive seat in the back of the restaurant, Vincent pulled the chair out for Mira before sitting down in his own. "Oh, this is reclusive…" Mira commented, looking around the restaurant, "I know the guys who own this place, they're a little shady but, they got good food so I don't question them." Vincent said, picking up his menu. "Vincent…" Mira started, "Hmm?" Vincent responded, "If you didn't pay your rent, how are you going to pay for this?" she asked, "I have my ways." Vincent said with a devious grin, "Oh? Am I not allowed to know?" Mira questioned, "Nope, secrets of an underground assassin!" he chuckled, "Former, underground assassin." Mira corrected, giving him a light glare. "Old habits die hard." Vincent sighed as the waiter came back over, "May I get you a bourbon Mr. Lucifer?" the waiter asked, "No actually, I feel like having a glass of wine, bring a bottle for me and the lovely lady." Vincent told the waiter, the man nodded before leaving quickly. "Mr. Lucifer?" Mira wondered, "Yes, they're very formal with regulars, and here comes one now!" Vincent exclaimed, gesturing to a shorter, chubby man in a red suit and top hat with a grey beard, "Vincent! How are you doing!?" the man asked, Vincent stood up to shake his hand, "I'm good Frank, as you can see, I'm on a date with this beautiful maiden." Vincent responded, gesturing to Mira who blushed a bit and giggled. "Oh my, she is beautiful… wait a moment! You're Mirajane Strauss! The girl from Sorcerer Weekly's photo spread!" Frank exclaimed, "Yes I am." Mira said with a smile, _'Oh, that's her last name…'_ Vincent thought to himself, silently cursing at himself. "You're a lucky man Vincent! But, I actually need to ask you something, can I borrow him for a moment?" Frank asked, looking to Mira, "Yes, go ahead!" she smiled, "Thank you, come with me for a moment Vincent." Frank said, leading Vincent outside.

"What's this about Frank? I called you from the motel to tell you I was done, I'm supposed to be clean now." Vincent said, lighting a cigar, "I know, I know but, this is a special contract… the only one I know that can pull it off is you." Frank explained, lighting his own cigar, "What did I just say?" Vincent asked with a growl. "Come on Vin, it's one last contract, then I'm gone, no more me, no more Ghost, okay?" Frank asked, holding a letter out to Vincent, "I'll do it, but I have some conditions…" Vincent trailed off, blowing a ring of smoke. "Anything." Frank stated, "I don't want to hear from, or see any Ghost agent anywhere near this city, that includes you. None of you are to contact, or interact with anyone from my guild, especially Mirajane…" Vincent said with a growl, "And, if I ever have to deal with you in the future, I'll kill you and every Ghost agent, understand?" he finished, towering over Frank. "Yes, I understand Vincent, here's the details and payment up front, goodbye Vincent, I hope our paths never cross again." Frank said, handing Vincent the letter and a stack of cash, tipping his hat before heading out into the street. "Fucking bastard…" Vincent growled, he put the letter in his jacket before stomping out his cigar and heading inside the restaurant.

 _Somewhere in Magnolia…_

"Did you get that boss?" Frank asked a shadowy figure in an alley, "Yes, he's grown fond of the fools in that legal guild, Ghost Clan will be paying them a visit… eventually… come Red, we have work to do yet." The shadowy figure answered in a female voice, gesturing their hand for Frank to come, "Yeah boss… you know, I still can't believe you fucked that guy." Frank said, a knife flew past his head and cut a piece of his top hat off, "S-Shut-shut up! It was nothing!" the figure shouted shrilly, turning away from Frank, clearly upset, "Sorry boss…" Frank apologized, the two then disappeared into the alley…

 _With Vincent…_

"So what was that about?" Mira asked as Vincent sat down and poured himself a tall glass of the wine that was now on the table, "Wanted to bring up some old stories, I told him to fuck off." Vincent sighed, chugging his glass down. "Okay… well, can we order then?" Mira asked, looking down at her menu, "Yeah." Vincent answered, he whistled, catching the attention of their waiter, "Yes Mr. Lucifer?" the man asked as he approached the table, "We'd like to order, I'll have the Devil's Dish like normal." Vincent said, handing his menu over. "And for you Miss?" the waiter asked, turning to Mira, "Um, I'll have… the parmesan chicken." Mira answered, handing her menu over, "And a water please?" she added, "Yes ma'am, I'll get your water right away." The waiter bowed quickly and scurried off, "Um, he seems really obedient…" Mira commented, tilting her head at the waiter's behavior, "I helped fund the construction and opening of this place. Understand now?" Vincent asked with a sly grin, "Oh, I see! Does that mean we eat for free?" Mira asked with excitement, "If I want, but I pay at a discounted price just because I'm so nice, this is actually my special seat, had it put in for a few extra bucks." Vincent explained, pouring himself more wine. "Did you want some wine?" Vincent asked, holding the bottle, "Some, yes, thank you." Mira answered, he poured her some and set the bottle down as the waiter came back with a glass of water, "Here you are miss, is there anything else you need?" he asked, setting the glass down, "Oh, I remember your name now, Joe, how are you kid!?" Vincent exclaimed suddenly, Joe was tall and slim with short, dark hair and brown eyes, his looks average but not ugly, he was surprised by Vincent's sudden outburst as well as Mira. "I'm okay Mr. Lucifer… thank you for remembering my name." Joe bowed, "Eh, I remembered on a whim, don't count on it!" Vincent laughed, "I'm good Joe, thank you." Mira said, catching the boy's attention, "Yes miss, I'll be back when you need me or when your meals are ready." Joe bowed once again and left. "Yep, he always serves me because I hired him, I thought I recognized him…" Vincent trailed off, "Aw, that's sweet." Mira gushed, "He needed a job a few months ago, the owner trusts me with the hiring so the kid got sent to me for confirmation, been grateful ever since." Vincent explained, sipping his drink. "That's a heartwarming little story… are you sure you aren't a nice guy?" Mira asked, leaning on the table, "I don't even know anymore, you and everyone else at the guild are making me question myself..." Vincent said, rubbing his forehead, "Good then, that means that you can't be all evil, I'll only allow you to be evil where it counts." Mira proclaimed, crossing her arms under her bust. "And where's that?" Vincent asked, "Oh you'll see…" Mira said with a playful smirk, "Oh? I can't wait." Vincent said, matching her smirk, "Mr. Lucifer, your meal." Joe said as he neared the table, setting a plate down in front of Vincent, "And yours miss." Joe set Mira's down, "Enjoy." He bowed and left, "Okay, what is that?" Mira asked, pointing at the large pieces of meat and peppers on Vincent's plate, "The Devil's Dish, spicy meats and peppers with a cool ranch dressing to calm the burn a bit, helps if you're a Dragon Slayer when you eat this, I bet Natsu could without a problem, I'm a little different so I feel the burn, that's how I like it." Vincent explained, picking up his utensils and starting to eat, "Natsu eats fire so, I wouldn't doubt he can eat that." Mira commented, starting on her own dish.

For a while they were silent, Vincent finished fairly quickly, wiping his mouth, "Ah, still good!" he sighed happily, leaning back in his seat, "How did you eat that so fast?" Mira asked, only halfway done with her meal, "I don't know, I've been able to do that for a long time." Vincent answered with a shrug, "Well, I'll be done in a bit, but, I think it's time you told me your sad back story, remember?" Mira asked with a grin, "Heh, you're right, I guess now's a good time, alright, listen close cause I'm not repeating anything." Vincent said, leaning forward a bit and getting comfortable. "I have no idea where I came from, maybe I did come from hell but, I was found by a big old, grey Dragon named Sersoot…"

 _Flashback…_

A very small and young Vincent stood in the middle of the woods, in the clearing before him was a giant grey Dragon made of smoke, its tail was on fire and letting off black smoke and ash, wherever the Dragon went, ash fell from his body of smoke with a black skeleton underneath, it had large, yellow eyes without pupils and were made of yellow flames, it had horns sticking out of its skull that curved back around to its eyes and the long spikes on its back lead all down its tail till the flame on the end. "Wha…? What are you?" Vincent asked, mesmerized by the creature before him, **"I'm Sersoot, the Smoke Dragon! Who are you young human?"** Sersoot asked, its voice deep and gentle, "I'm… Vincent Lucifer." Vincent answered, slowly backing behind a tree, **"No need to fear me child, I'm not going to hurt you. Come forward Vincent."** Sersoot said, beckoning Vincent forward with its claw. "Uh… okay…" Vincent said unsteadily, he stumbled as he tried to walk forward, his face clearly showing discomfort as he held his head, **"Are you okay child?"** Sersoot asked with concern, "My head hurts… but I'm okay." Vincent answered, sitting on a smooth rock, the Dragon laid down by him, "Are you a girl? You sound like one." Vincent asked suddenly, looking at the Dragon curiously. **"You're smart. Yes I am, I'm a female Dragon, one of the last few female Smoke Dragons, but I'm actually the Queen of the Smoke Dragons."** Sersoot explained, "Queen?" Vincent wondered, his head tilted to the side, **"I see… Vincent, would you like to be a Dragon Slayer?"** Sersoot asked, leaning her head in close to Vincent's. "But I just met you, why would I slay you?" Vincent wondered, Sersoot laughed a bit, **"Oh dear, you have much to learn…"**

 _Flashback End…_

"She'd be disappointed to see who I've become…" Vincent trailed off, "After Sersoot vanished, I found myself joining an underground group of assassins that trained me to kill, gave me Hades and Hecate and sent me into the fray with the dark guilds. They couldn't be touched by anyone, not even the three major dark guilds, they were considered a Rogue Guild, not affiliated with the dark guilds, but never followed the Council's rules either. My last mission that came from them was the Eisenwald Job, that's when Erza defeated me for the first time after my first contract." He finished, sipping on his wine, "That was, interesting… I've never heard of a Rogue Guild." Mira said, finishing her water after her meal, "Exactly, you'd only hear about them from one of the members, or former members. They can talk but, not many live too long after blabbing about the guild. I had met one of the members when he was sent to kill the innkeeper that had rented me a room, he said, and I quote, "Hey kid, either come with me, or die here."" Vincent explained, finishing his drink after. "So, in not wanting to die, I blasted some smoke and tried to escape, didn't help, he caught up and pointed his knife to my throat. The guy actually was impressed with my abilities and promised more than a rough bed at an inn if I would go with him back to the guild, turns out that he was fat old Frank you saw earlier." Vincent explained, shocking Mira. "Really!? How many years ago was this?" Mira asked, still intrigued, "Eh… fifteen, twenty years at least, he was getting ready to work as a contractor when I met him, he didn't train me but he was my only friend, a bastard but a friend." Vincent explained, he then waved Joe back over to the table, "He's your check Mr. Lucifer." Joe said, setting the check down. "Thanks. Here's your tip." Vincent handed Joe a nice little stack of Jewels, "Oh, thank you Mr. Lucifer!" he exclaimed, bowing gratefully, "Not a problem my friend, have a good one." Vincent patted Joe on the back as he got up, giving Mira his arm again, "I'm telling you, you're a sweetheart." Mira giggled quietly, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Vincent waved her off, grabbing the check and heading to the counter. "Here's the cash, keep the change." Vincent said as he set the check and a stack of Jewels down, "Um, Mr. Lucifer…" the girl behind the counter started, "This is double your actual fee…" she explained, "I don't care, bye guys!" Vincent waved behind him as he opened the door for Mira to leave, he followed shortly after, leaving the girl in awe.

"Vincent, where'd you get that money from?" Mira asked with suspicion, "Frank owed me money actually, sorry I didn't tell you earlier." Vincent answered with a guilty grin, "I thought you said he was bringing up the past?" Mira prodded, "Yeah, he was. I just left out the money part." Vincent said, Mira looked at him for a moment as they walked before believing him and looking ahead as they slowly approached her house. "And here we are, so, now what do you think?" Vincent asked as they stopped in front of the house, "Well, I think you're still berating yourself, but, you can improve, and you got a little bit cuter." Mira giggled, poking Vincent's nose, "Is that so? I guess I have to tell more of the sad stories I got." Vincent grinned, "Don't be a bummer, I know you've got some fun in you." Mira said, opening the door to the house. "Mira! Oh I was so worried!" Mira was immediately brought into a bear hug by her brother Elfman, the large man was bawling like a child, "Oh, I'm sorry Elfman, I was out with Vincent, he took me to dinner." Mira explained, comforting Elfman, "Oh, I see, did you have a good time?" Elfman asked, stopping his waterworks, "Yes I did." Mira answered as he put her down. "Don't worry Elfman, if you're not there to protect her, then I'll be there." Vincent said with a grin, "Aw, that's so sweet of you!" Mira gushed, "Yeah, that's MANLY! Thank you Vincent!" Elfman exclaimed, crushing Vincent in a bear hug. "I CAN'T PROTECT HER IF YOU SNAP MY SPINE!" Vincent shouted as he struggled in Elfman's grasp, "Oh you two! Elfman, don't break Vincent!" Mira chided, "He's a MAN! He can take it!" Elfman shouted, "I CAN FEEL MY SPINE CRACKING!" Vincent yelled, slowly choking as well, "Elfman! Stop!" Mira shouted, trying not to laugh at Vincent's pain and guttural groans of pain, "My spine…."

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Whew… finally done, there you go, sorry for the wait!

See you next time with more Collateral Damage!

Me: Huh? Where's Zeke? Oh dear… this can't be good…


	5. Five: Smokey Night

Chapter Five

Smokey Night

Vincent sat on the couch in the Strauss household, cleaning and polishing his weapons, _'So, old Frank wants me to kill a Wizard Saint… Jellal Fernandes. I didn't think Siegrain was a magic clone…'_ he thought, holstering his pistols and laying them on the table after he was done cleaning them. He kicked back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling, he pulled out a folded letter and opened it, _'Let's see, he's currently ruling a tower known as the Tower of Heaven, Siegrain is going to convince the Council to hit it with an Etherion blast!?'_ Vincent sat up abruptly. _'Is he insane!? That's going to blow the tower and the ocean to smithereens! Unless… no, he has to have something planned. I guess Ghost Clan likes to keep guys like this in check.'_ Vincent thought with a chuckle, he folded the paper up and then lit it on fire, inhaling the smoke and ash and eating it. _'I'm starting to remember why I was the best assassin…'_ Vincent chuckled as he laid down to go to sleep, his dreams filled with a certain white haired woman…

 _The Next Day…_

Vincent silently slipped out of the Strauss household and into the early morning, he travelled down the street towards the train station, catching a train heading for a port town.

Vincent arrived at the port town and hopped off the train in the early afternoon, "Okay, Hargeon Warehouses… where are they again?" he wondered, walking down the road as the town bustled around him, several people taking note of him but none wandered up to him. _'Let's see, last time I was here they were near the end of the docks…'_ Vincent thought, walking along the docks towards the edge of the city, "Here we are!" he exclaimed as he came upon warehouses near the end of the docks. Vincent headed for one that was heavily guarded by large men with swords, "Hey, what are you doing here?" one asked, stopping Vincent by the door, "I'd like to speak to Braddock, tell him the Devil himself is here." Vincent explained with a grin. "Alright, wait here!" the guard ordered before heading inside, the steel door closing with a clang, "So, you guys new here?" Vincent asked the other guard, "Yeah, Braddock hired us a few months ago, why?" the guard asked, "If you were the old guards I wouldn't be waiting here." Vincent stated with a grin as he lit a cigar. "Are we supposed to know you?" the guard wondered, "Apparently…" the other guard muttered as he opened the door with a large bump on his head, "Go ahead Mr. Lucifer…" he grumbled, letting Vincent in. "Thank you gentlemen!" Vincent laughed as he headed into the warehouse, the two guards grumbling as the door closed, "Vincent! How's it going!?" a short man in a brown suit and black tie called, his head bald and he had a curly brown mustache with a monocle and a walking stick in his hand. "I'm good Braddock, what about you?" Vincent asked, meeting Braddock next to a cargo ship and shaking his hand, "I'm doing well Vincent, so what can I do for my favorite assassin today?" Braddock asked, leading Vincent down the line of ships in the docking warehouse. "I need to get to an island out in this ocean. It's got a giant tower on it, know the place?" Vincent asked, "I do, that cultist inhabited tower? We've seen it but we haven't docked there. They shoot cannons at us every time we get close." Braddock explained, whacking his cane on a sleeping worker. The man woke up and apologized before going back to work, "I just need to get on it, I need to kill their leader." Vincent said, sitting down with Braddock on a crate, "Sounds dangerous. Okay, I'll get you to that island Vin, it'll cost you a bit though." Braddock said with a grin. "That's fine, I didn't expect to get anywhere without spending a little. How's fifty thousand sound?" Vincent asked, pulling out some cash, "Perfect! This ship here is sailing now, head aboard and I'll give the captain the orders to get you close to that island." Braddock explained, taking the money and waving a man over. Vincent got aboard the ship and the captain came on a moment later, "I'm the captain Mr. Lucifer, I can get you close to the island, Braddock says you can cross the rest of the distance by yourself right?" the captain wondered. Vincent blew smoke, "That's right, get me as close as possible and that'll do fine…" he said as the ship began to leave port, "Yes sir, all hands on deck! We've got a V.I.P. aboard!" the captain shouted, his men responded with a "Yes sir!" and got to work as the ship set sail…

 _Hours Later…_

Vincent eyed the island tower as the ship neared it, "Mr. Lucifer, this is as close as we can get without taking cannon fire!" the captain called from the wheel, "This is perfect! Thank you boys!" Vincent called back, he tossed his cigar in the water and put a foot up on the railing. "Here we go…" Vincent breathed, black smoke and fire charged in his hands, he jumped off of the railing, the smoke and fire in his hands exploded and sent him flying at a sonic speed, _**"Smoke Dragon's Ethereal Form!"**_ Vincent turned into smoke and slowly descended towards the island. Vincent slipped right past all of the guards and reformed inside of the tower on a staircase, "Ha, how's that for infiltration?" he chuckled, loading up Hecate and heading up into the tower. _'Let's see, I bet he's sitting in some throne at the top of this thing…'_ Vincent sighed, he turned into smoke again and flew up the tower…

Vincent reappeared on one of the floors in the tower, sneaking down the hallways, he turned the corner and found a few cultists standing guard, he shot both of them in the left leg with Hecate and knocked them out. Vincent walked up to the door and opened it, finding a dark and ominous room, he slipped in and hid in the shadows, "Seems our guests have arrived, go greet them…" a man's voice said, three cloaked figures left the room as the cloaked man in the throne stood up. _'Guests? Who could he be talking about? And is that a chess board?'_ Vincent wondered in thought, holstering Hecate and drawing Hades, "Hmm, I did not anticipate another player… yet I cannot find him…" the cloaked man mumbled to himself, looking over his chess board. The hood on the cloak was removed to reveal the man's blue hair, Vincent snuck right up behind him and put Hades to the back of the man's head, "Here I am, Jellal…" Vincent said with a grin, Jellal put his hands up and turned around to face Vincent. "Vincent Lucifer, I see now… I'm your mark." Jellal said, looking down the barrel of Hades, "Good job, you figured out why I'm holding a gun to your head!" Vincent exclaimed sarcastically, "It doesn't matter anyway, you'll die here with everyone else." Jellal said coldly. "The only one dying here is you asshole. I know your little plot to hit this place with an Etherion blast. If I kill you then Siegrain dies and so does your plan." Vincent said, cocking the hammer on Hades, "If you kill me." Jellal said, he grinned and glowed yellow before disappearing. "Shit!" Vincent cursed, he then yelped in pain when a roundhouse kick hit him in the back and sent him into a wall, "Now then, are you going to play along or am I going to have to end you before this game is over?" Jellal asked, hovering over Vincent as he got up. "No, no… the fun's just starting…" Vincent mumbled as he holstered Hades, _**"Smoke Dragon's Talon!"**_ he sent a side kick into Jellal's gut, sending the man flying across the room, "A Dragon Slayer… how impudent!" Jellal shouted, glowing with more power. _**"Meteor!"**_ Jellal shouted before taking off at an incredible speed that Vincent could not follow, "Shit... AHHG!" he shouted in pain when a punch landed on his chest and sent him back into the wall. "Give up Vincent! You're not powerful enough to defeat me!" Jellal shouted as he raced past, kicking Vincent in the jaw, Vincent spat out blood and fell to his knees, "Fuck you… _**Smoke Dragon's Ash Volley!"**_ Vincent blasted his smoke out of his hands, trying to hit Jellal as he darted around the room. Jellal appeared behind Vincent and punted him in the back of the head, smashing his face into the floor and canceling his spell, "Stay down this time." Jellal ordered, stepping off of Vincent, "You're taking your damn time killing me!" Vincent shouted as he got up, he pulled Hades and fired off a round. Jellal turned around and took the bullet in the thigh, making him grunt and drop to his knee, "You piece of garbage… you wounded me!" he yelled, "No shit!" Vincent shouted before firing another shot, Jellal managed to roll to the side and avoid it. He kept rolling out of the way of a hail of gunfire before stopping behind the crystal in the middle of the room, "Come out asshole!" Vincent shouted, reloading and walking around the crystal, he found Jellal nowhere. "Shit!" Vincent growled, he then ducked under a punch, "Damn you!" Jellal yelled, he grabbed Vincent's wrist and disarmed him by nearly breaking it, "You've underestimated me." Vincent said with a grin as he kicked Jellal's legs out from under him, he put a hand on the small of Jellal's back and held onto his wrist as he slammed the man into the ground. "It seems I have…" Jellal muttered, wincing as Vincent pulled on his arm, "Now then, time to kill you. _**Smoke Dragon's…"**_ Vincent charged his breath attack, "Jellal!" a voice shouted as the door was blown apart behind them. "Erza…" Jellal whispered, seeing Erza standing in the doorway, "Vincent? What are you doing here?" Erza asked as she walked into the room, Vincent canceled his breath attack, "Uh, well… how to explain this…?" he wondered, pinning Jellal with his foot and facing Erza. "Are you here to kill him!?" Erza shouted, pointing her sword at Vincent, "Well that's putting it bluntly." Vincent said with an annoyed look, "I won't let you, this is my fight, you need to leave." Erza said, pushing Vincent off of Jellal. "No point in arguing with you… I've already got a headache from that asshole…" Vincent grumbled, picking up Hades and holstering it, "Just make sure he's dead!" he added as he left the room. "But, if shit hits the fan, I'm coming back up here to end him." Vincent said, he glared at Jellal briefly before leaving the room…

Vincent sat on a window ledge, smoking a cigar, _'Fucking hell… what's her deal anyway? Who cares about some psychotic asshole like him? I certainly don't… well, I don't care about a lot of things too… and it seems like she didn't fucking kill him! Great fucking job! Here comes the Etherion blast!'_ Vincent sighed as he looked up at the bright light in the sky. "One last contract my ass… this is turning into a shit fest…" Vincent grumbled as the light rained down on the tower…

 _At the Top of the Tower…_

Natsu watched with boiling anger as Erza cried over the man before him, "Simon!" she yelled, Simon was dead as Jellal laughed across the now crystalized tower, "He died protecting you! What a fool!" Jellal shouted, Natsu was about to charge him when a loud gunshot rang out and Jellal held his stomach, blood flowed from the newly made hole in him. "You are one sick ticket… have a nice afterlife asshole." Vincent growled as he put Hades against the side of Jellal's head, "Vincent! Don't kill him!" Natsu shouted, running towards the assassin and Jellal. "Why the hell no- UGHH!" Vincent was interrupted by Jellal's fist hitting him in the stomach and knocking him away and into a wall, "Vincent!" Natsu yelled, he turned to face the wounded Jellal. "Twice now that fool has shot me… you'll all die for this… all of you will become Zeref's new body! _**Meteor!"**_ Jellal shouted, taking off towards Natsu and starting to beat on him, smashing him into the floor and leaving him there. Vincent stumbled out of the wall and shakily held Hades towards Jellal, "Die you fucker…" he muttered, firing off a shot, it missed Jellal by a little and made the man turn to face Vincent, "How are you still standing, weakling!?" Jellal launched towards Vincent and smashed him into the wall again. "You will die here!" Jellal screamed, punching Vincent multiple times in the face and crushing him further into the wall, "This should end you…" Jellal said as he backed away a bit, flying up into the air, _**"Grand Chariot!"**_ he unleashed his attack towards Vincent who just scoffed. "What an idiot…"

Jellal breathed a bit as he watched the area his spell had hit, waiting to see if Vincent was defeated, the smoke was slowly inhaled towards the center of the blast zone as said Dragon Slayer ate it, "You know… I may be a weak Dragon Slayer but… now I've got the power to kill you." Vincent stated, his magic flaring. "Why won't you die already!?" Jellal shouted, launching towards Vincent, "Because I'm the assassin. _**Smoke Dragon's Secret Art…"**_ Vincent started, gathering smoke in his hands and taking a low stance. "Die Vincent!" Jellal screamed as he approached with a fist cocked back, _**"Ash Miasma: Fallout Vortex!"**_ Vincent shouted, he launched towards Jellal and spun his arms in a circular motion, a black twister of fiery smoke and ash exploded towards Jellal and enveloped him. "AHHHGGHH! YOU BASTARD!" Jellal screamed as he was blasted into the ceiling, the spell ended and Vincent dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. "Well Mira… I didn't use my guns…" Vincent chuckled as he fell over, his consciousness fading, "Vincent!" someone called but he didn't respond as he faded away…

 _Days Later…_

Vincent awoke in a bed in a hotel room, "Fuckin' a… my head hurts like I have a hangover…" he groaned, holding his bandaged head with his hand, there was a knock at the door, "Go away dammit…" he called, rolling over towards the window. "Vincent, it's me, Lucy, I'm coming in!" Lucy called as she opened the door, she walked in and dodged a pillow aimed for her head, "Someone's grumpy this morning…" she muttered, looking at the pillow lodged in the wall. "What do you want?" Vincent asked with a growl as he laid back down, "Erza told me to check up on you. You've been out for days now." Lucy said as she walked over to the bed. "So? Why do you care?" Vincent asked, "Because I'm your guild mate, and whether I like you or not doesn't matter, you're still a part of Fairy Tail and we have to take care of each other." Lucy stated, giving Vincent a scolding look. "You don't have to take care of me. I've survived for years on my own." Vincent said as he rolled over, "Well I am so get used to it! Now roll over so I can check your wounds!" Lucy ordered, grabbing Vincent's shoulder. "Get some paper or something and light it on fire." Vincent said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, "What? Why?" Lucy wondered, letting go of him, "If I consume some smoke my wounds will heal faster. Trust me Blondie." Vincent explained with an annoyed sigh. "Okay, and my name is Lucy!" Lucy shouted, "Whatever, just make some smoke…" Vincent sighed, Lucy pouted at him and mumbled something about mean assassins as she found some newspaper and Vincent's silver zippo lighter. "Here." Lucy said, holding the burning paper out to Vincent, "Thanks…" he mumbled, sitting up and grabbing the paper, it burned to ash in his hands, the smoke lingering around his face, he suddenly inhaled all of the smoke and ash, eating it with a content sigh afterwards. "Much better…" Vincent sighed happily, removing the bandages on his head and torso, the cuts and bruises on his torso slowly healed, mending back together, "Wow… I didn't know Dragon Slaying magic did that." Lucy said in awe as she watched his wounds heal. "Yeah, I'm the only Dragon Slayer that has this ability where if I consume my element I heal and regain power." Vincent explained as he got up in only his underwear, stretching and cracking his joints. "So consuming fire would only restore Natsu's power and stamina but not heal his wounds?" Lucy wondered, "What did I just-? Yes, that's right." Vincent stopped his rude response and answered her question. "Mira was right, you can be nice if you try." Lucy said with a smile, "Huh!? That woman… what did she tell you!?" Vincent growled, "Just that you were a sweetheart and took her out on a nice date." Lucy answered with a grin. "I should've known she'd be the gossiping type…" Vincent growled with a clenched fist, "Well, if you're feeling better then get dressed and follow me, we have a dinner to go to." Lucy explained as she headed for the door. "Sure…" Vincent sighed as he found his clothes folded on the end of the bed, "Had Virgo fix and wash your clothes while you were out." Lucy explained when she saw him examining his clothes. "Handy little girl…" Vincent grumbled as he got dressed, "Thanks I guess…" he sighed as he walked up to the door, "No problem, just goes to show you how important I am to the guild!" Lucy exclaimed with a confident grin. "Hey, pull your head out of your ass and let's go!" Vincent shouted from down the hall, "Hey! Is that anyway to treat the person who's been taking care of you!?" Lucy yelled as she caught up with Vincent. "It is when you're being an egotistical brat." Vincent sighed, "Well excuse me for having self-confidence!" Lucy whined, "Just don't go shoving yourself onto a high horse." Vincent said, ruffling Lucy's hair. "Don't treat me like a kid!" Lucy yelled, batting Vincent's hand away, "Whatever… kid." Vincent said with a grin, "Hey!" Lucy exclaimed, glaring at Vincent, "Hahaha, there's the glare I was looking for!" Vincent laughed, patting Lucy's shoulder. "Thanks Lucy, I feel better now." Vincent said with a genuine smile, Lucy blushed a bit and looked away, "You're welcome you jerk!" she grumbled, Vincent chuckled as they entered a dining hall. "There he is! How are you feeling Vincent?" Erza asked as Vincent sat down with her, Natsu, Gray, Happy and three other people, one a cat-like girl, a blocky man with a fedora, and a tanned blonde boy. "Better, Lucy's a good little maid." Vincent said with a grin, Lucy glared at him, "I'm not your maid!" she yelled, "Sure seems like you were, washing my clothes, tending to my wounds and cleaning up…" Vincent teased, Lucy turned red and pouted. "That's good, Lucy did her job well then. Vincent, do you remember anything after blasting Jellal with that spell?" Erza asked, "No, I blacked out after exhausting my magic. I suppose the sudden burst of Natsu's magic I felt before blacking out was his Dragon Force?" Vincent wondered, his answer was a nod from Erza. "Damn, did he eat the Ethernano crystal?" Vincent asked, again Erza nodded but with a sigh, "Dumbass…" Vincent sighed as he watched Natsu eat. "So what happened after I blacked out?" Vincent asked, "Well, Natsu defeated Jellal and the tower was starting to collapse and explode. I tried stopping it but, Natsu pulled me away, after that, I have no idea." Erza explained with a sad look. "So we have no idea how I survived?" Vincent asked, "No, we found you lying cold and beaten on the beach." Erza explained, "I saw something…" the cat-like girl spoke up, catching their attention. "What did you see Millianna?" Erza asked, "Well, through all the smoke and debris I saw a cloud of smoke that floated away from the tower towards the beach." Millianna explained, "Well that explains it. My Ethereal form activates when my mind shuts down in combat, safely moving me away from danger." Vincent explained with a grin. "Your power does that?" Erza wondered, "Yeah, it's something that it does naturally, I have no control over it. It's as if my power has a mind of its own but, it's really just a defensive mechanism the Smoke Dragon Slayer has." Vincent explained, kicking back and searching his pockets. "Shit, I forgot I'm out of cigars…" Vincent sighed, slumping in his seat, "Well, I think there's a smoke shop downstairs somewhere. For now get something to eat, you've been asleep for days." Erza said, piling food onto Vincent's plate. "Well… I'm not saying no to free food…" Vincent mumbled as he sat up, he looked at his plate before promptly devouring all of it in seconds, making everyone but Natsu stared at him with jaws agape. "What? I'm a Dragon Slayer!" Vincent exclaimed defensively, everyone nodded and went back to eating, Vincent wolfed down several more plates before getting up, "I'm good now, thanks. I'm heading down to find that smoke shop!" he called as he left.

Vincent walked out of the smoke shop near the casino in the resort he was in, "I did not realize we were in a resort…" he mumbled, lightning up a cigar, "There you are Vincent!" Erza's voice exclaimed, Vincent looked down the hall towards the elevator and nearly choked on his cigar. "Ugh, whoa… damn Erza…" Vincent said after pulling his cigar out of his throat, "What?" Erza asked as her and everyone walked up to him, "That bikini works wonders for your curves." Vincent stated with a grin. "Huh!? What!?" Erza exclaimed, blushing a bit, she and everyone else was dressed in swimsuits, "Same goes for you Blondie." Vincent said, pointing his cigar at Lucy, "Oh, thanks I guess…" Lucy mumbled, blushing and looking away a bit. "You pervert!" Erza shouted suddenly as she watched Vincent eye her and Lucy up and down, she summoned a sword and swung at Vincent, it phased through him. "Admiring a woman isn't being perverted. Those were compliments." Vincent stated with an annoyed look, "B-B-But you were eyeing us like a wild animal!" Erza stuttered, pointing her sword at him. "My eyes may have looked that way but, admiration dear Scarlet…" Vincent trailed off, appearing next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, "Is different, understand?" he asked, "I see… so like admiring a cake but not devouring it?" Erza wondered, her answer was a nod from Vincent as her sword vanished. "Good analogy Scarlet! I'm going to buy a swim suit, I'll meet you on the beach!" Vincent called as he walked away, "Whoa… he just stood up to Erza without blinking…" Gray mumbled, "Yeah… he's so cool!" Natsu exclaimed with stars in his eyes as he watched Vincent walk away. "I wonder if he likes fish!?" Happy exclaimed, just as star struck as Natsu, Erza smiled to herself behind them, _'I believe he's warming up Mira…'_ she thought, watching Vincent as he disappeared into the crowd. "Alright, you heard him! To the beach!" Erza shouted, leading everyone to the exit, "AYE SIR!" they shouted, in the distance Vincent watched them head outside, _'What a bunch of goofs… can't help but like them though…'_ he thought with a chuckle.

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There, sorry for the wait. It's just going to get worse with school starting soon… fuck me. No seriously, someone, please…?

See you next time with more Collateral Damage!

Me: Guys, I found Zeke… he's stuck in the fourth wall.

Zeke: *Muffled Screams*

Me: I'll go get the chainsaw… *Leaves Zeke Behind*

Zeke: *Louder Screams*


	6. Six: Old Habits Die Hard

Chapter Six

Old Habits Die Hard

Vincent looked up at the brand new Fairy Tail guild hall, "That's nice, I'm sure it's amazing on the inside but I have to-" he was cut off and grabbed by the collar as he tried to leave right away, Erza glared at him as she pulled him back by the collar. "You aren't going anywhere. You're going to apologize to Mira and endure any punishment she sees fit." Erza stated, dragging Vincent into the guild hall with the rest of her team, Natsu tucked his face into his scarf and crossed his arms as they entered. "A café? Is that necessary?" Vincent wondered, phasing through Erza's grip and standing up, "Vincent…" she growled, "I won't run off!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender, with a nod from Erza they continued on. Going through the main doors they were greeted by an entirely new set up, "Wow, this is awesome!" Lucy exclaimed, "Yeah, it's cool." Gray said, then noticing Natsu's not so enthusiastic behavior. "What's wrong with you?" Gray wondered, looking at the brooding Natsu, "I'm not good with change…" Natsu muttered, "Neither am I kid, get used to it." Vincent said, slapping Natsu on the back as he walked inside. "Hey, good to see you back Lu!" Levy called, waving to Lucy, "Hey Levy!" Lucy responded, "Isn't this great!? Come around back!" Levy exclaimed, leading the group back outside behind the bar. "We've got a pool!" Levy exclaimed, gesturing to the large pool, "Seriously? Why?" Vincent wondered, lighting a cigar, "It's not the same." Natsu grumbled, "Oh, and downstairs there's a game room!" Levy squealed, rushing downstairs, still being followed by the group. "Hey guys!" Macao greeted as everyone entered the game room, "I suppose this is useful, to some extent…" Vincent sighed, "I don't like it." Natsu grumbled. "Are you just going to complain? If so, then be quiet about it." Vincent said, giving Natsu an annoyed look, "Come on back up, the biggest change is upstairs, everyone is allowed up there now." Levy explained, gesturing to the second floor. "Hey guys! Hey Vincent! Mira was looking for you! She seemed upset, you'd better not be the reason…" Elfman trailed off, from the second floor, giving Vincent a dirty look. "I bet I am…" Vincent sighed, "Master lets more of us go on S-Class quests, as long as we have an S-Class wizard with us." Levy finished as the aforementioned guild master approached the group. "I'm glad you dunderheads made it back. I'd like you to meet our newest guild member, Juvia, isn't she a cutie?" Makarov wondered, gesturing to Juvia, "Hi, it will be a pleasure to work with you." Juvia said with a slight bow. "Ha, so you made it in, huh?" Gray wondered, "Oh, Juvia, I'd like to thank you for your help at the resort." Erza said, "Oh, no, I should be thanking you, I got to join a new guild!" Juvia cheered, her cheery look turned dark upon spotting Lucy. "Hey!" Lucy greeted, she was then bombarded by Juvia's dark aura, "We shall fight for Gray!" she yelled, "Not necessary…" Lucy sighed. "We've also added another member to the guild, someone you might recognize…" Makarov trailed off, nodding towards a table behind the group, _'I don't even need to look, it's that metal head Gajeel, isn't it?'_ Vincent thought with a sigh, "GAJEEL!" Natsu shouted, "Seriously!? That guy!?" Gray shouted, both of them glaring at Gajeel. "Humph." Gajeel huffed, looking away from them, "Alright, before you get all gung-ho about him being here, remember me? Eh? The assassin who has killed too many people to count and was your enemy? Hello? Ring a fucking bell?" Vincent asked, making everyone look towards him. "Juvia is fine, but he's the one who destroyed our guild hall!" Erza exclaimed, "Vincent is right, he was an enemy, now he is not. Yesterday's enemy can be tomorrow's friend. Did I not teach you that?" Makarov wondered, looking around a bit. "I'm okay with him being here…" Levy mumbled from behind the cover of a table, "Well no way! I can't work with somebody I can't trust!" Natsu shouted, slamming his hand on the table, Gajeel looked at him with a dark grin. "So what? It's not like I want to be your buddy." Gajeel said, getting up from his seat, "The only reason I'm in this guild is for work, I hate this guild and everyone in it. So you can go screw off!" he yelled, getting in Natsu's face. "I know you kids don't like it but it's my duty as guild master to help those astray find the right path. Give him a shot, he might be nice… at least I hope so…" Makarov muttered the last of his short speech. "I may not agree, but I will respect you decision. I'm going to keep a close eye on him." Erza stated, watching Gajeel and Natsu growl at each other, they eventually broke up and Natsu wandered off. "That was the most pointless confrontation I've ever seen. So what if he put a couple of pegs in an old, stylishly outdated building, and beat a few people up. Least he didn't fucking kill anyone!" Vincent shouted, walking off towards the bar, Erza and Makarov sighed, "That is true…"

Vincent stopped at the bar and didn't find anyone behind it, "Huh? What the fuck?" he wondered, the lights went out and one turned on, right on the center of the new stage. Mira was sitting on the stage with a guitar and a floating microphone, she wore a very tight, yellow dress, "Holy hell, she looks fucking sexy as hell in that outfit." Vincent said, taking a seat on the bar and leaning on it. Mira scanned the crowd a bit and eventually landed on Vincent's figure in the darkness, "I'm just going to… not be in her line of sight…" Vincent mumbled, sliding out of the stool and vanishing in a puff of smoke. Mira shook her head and went ahead with her performance, Vincent reappeared behind a pillar and watched from afar, a lot of the guys in the guild were cheering and cat calling, that was, until they picked up the scent of smoke and turned around to see Vincent's cigar light in the shadows, his eyes glowed a deep, dark orange and they all settled down. _'Whoa…'_ Vincent thought, blinking a bit as his magic spike faded, his eyes changing back to normal, _'Fucking duck shit McGee! My inner dragon has already reacted? I thought I was able to stave it off every time I was interested in a woman? What's different this time!? FUCK!'_ Vincent thought in panic, he held his head a bit before vanishing once again.

Reappearing outside the guild hall, he leaned against the side wall behind him and slid down to the ground with a sigh, _'Great, I ran off… that just made everything worse.'_ Vincent sighed at his thoughts, finishing off his cigar and letting it turn to ash that he ate. Eventually Vincent picked up loud cheering, "Seems Mira is done…" he mumbled, then quickly covered his ears, "AH FUCK! Whose screechy ass voice is that!?" he wondered, hearing a different song from inside. "It's that Gajeel prick isn't it?" Vincent wondered, "I do believe it is." Mira's voice answered from behind, _'She's good…'_ Vincent thought as he slowly turned around to face her. "Hey Mira, how's it-" Vincent was cut off as Mira slapped him across the face, "I deserve that." Vincent sighed, "How could you?" Mira asked, tears in her eyes. "Alright… let me explain…" Vincent said, "Don't bother, I know exactly what you did. Erza sent a letter ahead while you were injured, you took a contract to assassinate a member of the council in that tower. Even if he was evil, you broke your promise… you said you wouldn't use them, you said you were done with your past…" Mira said, sniffling a little. "Mira… I… I tried… I wanted to… but… I…" Vincent stuttered, at a loss for words as Mira gave him a stern, teary eyed glare, "I'm sorry… I don't know what else to say." Vincent sighed, holding his cheek and looking down at the ground. "I know you can be different Vincent, Sersoot didn't raise you because you were an evil killer, you just fell in with the wrong crowd." Mira said, walking up to Vincent and lifting his head with a finger under his chin. "Leave your guns behind you, leave the killing behind you, and leave your past behind you. I know you can do it. You just have to try." Mira stated, wrapping Vincent in a hug, she jumped a bit when she felt something wet on her shoulder as Vincent hugged her back. "Goddammit! She never did raise a bastard like me… She said I was going to be a powerful wizard who could honor her name… yet I slandered it as I ran through the underworld of crime…" Vincent sobbed, digging his face into Mira's neck. "It's okay now Vincent… you're with us… she would be proud to see you now." Mira whispered, rubbing Vincent's back, he sobbed a few more times before calming down and sniffling. "Thanks Mira…" Vincent whispered, "Of course, you're always welcome to talk to me about anything Vin, can I call you Vin?" Mira asked as the two separated, "I prefer Vinnie." Vincent said, smiling a bit at her. **"I gave you that nickname…"** a deep, female voice said, a greyish-orange ball of light floated around in front of Vincent, "S-Sersoot…?" he whispered, staring in shock at the orb. **"Only the last essence of my consciousness, and with it I want to tell you how proud I am of you. You've turned yourself around Vinnie, I knew you were a good boy when I found you, and you still are. I don't have much time, so I shall leave you with this: your Ash powers."** Sersoot explained, Vincent's eyes glowed before returning to normal. "What? Ash?" Vincent wondered, **"Smoke is just a name, we're actually Ash Dragons Vinnie, cast your spells with Ash in the incantation and you'll be so much stronger… go now my son, this is my final goodbye."** Sersoot explained, the light slowly fading away. "No! Wait! Where did you go!?" Vincent shouted, he grasped wildly at the orb but it vanished, making him miss and grab something soft and squishy, "Oh, I know this feeling…" Vincent mumbled, looking up at the blushing Mira as his right hand squeezed one of her breasts. "Uh… sorry about that…" Vincent muttered, letting go and turning away, "It's okay, it was an accident after all… I'm sorry about Sersoot." Mira said with sympathy, "Thanks… I don't know what she did… but she's gone now. Probably forever…" Vincent sighed, sitting back down on the ground. "She said something about Ash Dragons, do you know what that means?" Mira asked, sitting down next to Vincent, "No, not really. My magic power did get a boost though…" Vincent said, looking at his hand as it was enveloped in black smoke. "Huh? My grey smoke…" Vincent started, looking in surprise at his hand, "What? Is something wrong?" Mira asked, "Yeah, my grey smoke won't summon unless I charge a spell that uses it. I can only summon my stronger black smoke." Vincent explained, showing her his hands. "Is there really a difference?" Mira asked, "Yes! Grey smoke is weak and used for things like smokescreens, huge stun hits and my ethereal form. Black smoke has traces of fire in it when used and is for damaging attacks like my talon kick and my flame fist and my roar." Vincent explained, getting up and staring at his hands. "Does that mean that you're stronger?" Mira asked, getting up and walking over to him, "Yes, I do believe so, and I have the perfect way to test it…" Vincent trailed off, watching Gajeel walk out of the guild followed by Jet and Droy. "No, don't fight Gajeel!" Mira exclaimed, batting Vincent across the head, "OW! No! Our mutual friend Laxus has arrived…" Vincent said, vanishing in grey smoke, Mira blinked before sighing, "Dammit Vinnie…"

Jet and Droy were beating on Gajeel for his transgressions against them before the fight with Phantom Lord, and Gajeel was taking their hits, accepting his punishment. "Guys! That's enough!" Levy exclaimed, "Yeah, are you two just beating on the new guy?" Laxus asked as he walked out from the other side of the large tree in the park they were in. "Laxus!?" Jet and Droy exclaimed, "Seeing as this is the guy that busted up our guild hall, I understand how you feel. I bet the only reason the old geezer let you join the guild is cause he's scared of you wrecking the place again." Laxus said as he approached the kneeling Gajeel. "We've become the laughing stock of the magic community because of you! I stopped around on my way back from my last job and everyone was talking about how weak the Fairy Tail guild was! No one dared to say that until you came along!" Laxus yelled, his lightning magic sparked wildly around him and he hit Gajeel with a lightning bolt. "Now you're going to pay!" Laxus yelled, punching the ground and unleashing a circular blast of lightning at Gajeel, before the blast connected, a figure rushed in front of Gajeel and stopped their foot, Laxus' lightning connected with a blast of black smoke, fire, and ash, the attack was canceled out. "Long time no see, _Sparky_." Vincent said, a cigar stuck in his cocky grin, his hands in his pockets as he faced Laxus down, "Who the hell are you?" Gajeel wondered, "Vincent Lucifer, the Devil himself." Vincent introduced, giving Gajeel a two finger salute. "Oh hey Vincent, what are you doing protecting that guy?" Laxus asked, his angered look still present, "I think he's had quite enough, getting his ass kicked by Natsu was enough payback and those two were just settling a deserved vendetta, you're just being a dick." Vincent explained, biting the end of his cigar to put it out. "Remember last time you challenged me?" Laxus asked, his lighting sparking wildly as he readied himself, "Yeah, but I've got a plan." Vincent said, still standing casually, "What's that?" Laxus asked, he blinked when Vincent vanished in a puff of smoke. "I kick your ass! _**Ash Dragon's Flaming Fist!"**_ Vincent shouted, punching Laxus across the jaw with a fiery fist as Laxus started to turn around, Laxus was thrown backwards from the force and skidded as he landed. "What the hell? Why are you stronger?" Laxus wondered, watching Vincent closely, "I learned something today, I don't need a gun to give a beat down." Vincent said, he reared his head back and a dark grey, almost black magic circle opened in front of him. _**"Ash Dragon's Roar!"**_ Vincent yelled, blasting a stream of black smoke, ash, and fire at Laxus, Laxus dove out of the way of the attack and fired off a blast of lightning, Vincent stopped his roar and a magic circle opened near his left hand. _**"Ash Dragon's Smoldering Discharge!"**_ Vincent shouted, throwing his hand through the circle, he connected a ball of his magic with Laxus' attack and they canceled each other out. "Huh, whatever. I'm done here, I'm ending this." Laxus said, charging a lot of his lightning, "Not so fast Laxus…" Vincent said as he materialized behind Laxus, Laxus tried to spin around but was met with a kick. _**"Ash Dragon's Talon!"**_ Vincent shouted, Laxus grunted as he blocked the roundhouse kick with his arms, it still sent him sliding back, "Why you… how do you keep doing that?" Laxus asked, watching Vincent relight his cigar. "I use my smoke to teleport, it uses my ethereal form and moves me quickly." Vincent explained with a smirk, "I have my own "ethereal" form! _**Lightning Body!"**_ Laxus yelled, covering himself in lightning and flying towards Vincent. _**"Ash Dragon's Ethereal Form."**_ Vincent said, turning into grey smoke and flying up, Laxus slammed into the ground where Vincent was standing, "Where are you, coward!?" he yelled and then was kicked in the back of the head. _**"Ash Dragon's Talon!"**_ Vincent yelled, his heel connecting with Laxus' head and knocking him into the dirt, Vincent landed with a sigh as Laxus got up and faced him, "Vincent! Laxus! Stop it!" Mira yelled as she ran into the park. "Shut up! He's going to get it now!" Laxus yelled, blasting lightning at Mira. "Mira!" Vincent yelled, he vanished and appeared in front of Mira, _**"Ash Dragon's Volcanic Rupture!"**_ Vincent yelled, smashing his fist into the ground, a magic circle appeared on the ground and exploded with his magic, blocking Laxus' attack. "I think that's enough Laxus…" Vincent growled, his eyes turning orange once again as he glared at Laxus, "Yeah… sure…" Laxus grumbled, walking off and leaving the scene. "Vinnie, thanks for saving me, again." Mira said, smiling at Vincent, "No problem, I said I would protect you, didn't I?" Vincent asked with a grin, "Um, what happened to your eyes?" Mira asked, pointing at Vincent's eyes, he blinked and turned around. "Uh, nothing! It's something with my powers!" Vincent exclaimed, keeping his eyes closed, "Hey, Ash Dragon." Gajeel's voice called, Vincent opened his eyes and looked at Gajeel. "Thanks… and you ought to take care of that." Gajeel said, pointing at Vincent's eyes before leaving the area as well, "Um, Vinnie?" Mira called, trying to walk in front of Vincent but he turned away again. "Don't worry about it, let's head back." Vincent stated and started off towards the guild hall, Mira stood there with a confused look, "Why won't he tell me what's wrong?" she mumbled to herself, a slight pout on her face as she watched Vincent walk away.

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Hey guys, sorry this is so late, I've been a fucking bum since I got a new game system, for obvious reasons. Hope you enjoyed!

See you next time with more Collateral Damage!


	7. Seven: Begin Anew

Chapter Seven

Begin Anew

 **V** incent quietly stood overlooking Magnolia atop the spires of the cathedral. His grey suit was swapped for something different. Very different. He wore a gentleman's suit with a white shirt, grey vest, a black cravat, black slacks and matching shoes. He wore a long black duster instead of a sport coat. Hecate was holstered under his left arm and Hades was still tucked into the hidden holster in his waistband.

He leaped from the spire and drifted to the shingled roof in a smoky cloud. Below he could clearly see the Harvest Festival taking off as booths and stands were set up around town. Vincent scanned the cathedral grounds before spotting the graveyard.

 _There._ He leaped down and landed softly near the particular headstone he was looking for. It read "Lisanna Strauss" on the headstone. Vincent set one knee down and gently placed his hand on the grave. His magic seeped into the dirt without disturbing the soft soil.

 _Just as I thought… no body. That vision didn't lie to me. She really did vanish._ Vincent sighed and leaned back a little bit. He pulled out a small box with a few cigars in it. He picked one out and stuck it in his mouth as he stood up.

"Here's to a girl who I never knew." Vincent said as he pulled out a lighter and a flask. He lit his cigar, puffed on it, and then took a long swig from his flask. He stuffed the lighter and flask back into his pockets and raked his hand through his greying hair. He wasn't that old. Not by a long shot, but the grey hair concerned him.

"Vinnie?"

Vincent stopped midway through a long draft on his cigar. He turned and saw Mirajane standing at the entrance to the graveyard.

"Mira. How goes it?" Vincent asked, stepping to the side as Mira approached the grave. She crouched next to the headstone and eyed it.

"I'm okay. What about you? You vanished yesterday and now you're back, standing on Lil' Sis's grave." Mira said quietly. Vincent winced a bit since he had _stood_ on the grave. Kneeled, really, but even still, Vincent didn't like the idea of standing on graves. Death was an old friend of Vincent's but he still didn't care for disrespecting the dead.

 _Well, she ain't dead. Dumbass…_ "I went to go collect my thoughts. I figured a change of pace in the outfit would work too." Vincent said as he inhaled smoke. Mira stood up and looked back at the town. Her solemn demeanor was extremely different from how she normally acted, as far as Vincent knew, anyway.

"She loved festivals. The games, the food, the parade…" Mira mumbled as she scanned the crowded streets. She grew a melancholy smile as she reminisced. Vincent watched her blue eyes as they scanned the crowds. Then, those eyes locked onto his.

"Vinnie… would you laugh if I told you that I wished I could control time?" Mira asked, stepping up to Vincent. She searched his storm cloud eyes for the answer.

"Nah, I'd agree with you on that one…" Vincent chuckled. Mira smiled a bit.

"Thank you, Vinnie. Want to come back to the guild? We're holding a lot of festivities ourselves. Booze is half off." Mira giggled as Vincent grew a huge grin.

"Half off, you say? Well then, may I accompany you back to the guild hall?" Vincent asked, smoking the last of his cigar and sliding it into a small cylinder that he pulled from a coat pocket.

"Of course. Lead the way." Mira said, letting Vincent take her arm. He grinned and started to guide them through the crowds. People made way for the towering Dragon Slayer as they headed for the guild hall.

* * *

Vincent sat at the bar as Mira rounded it and started her work for the morning. He decided to take advantage of half price alcohol and order some expensive bourbon. A whole bottle, actually.

"Try not to get drunk, it's only ten o'clock." Mira advised as she set the bottle down. She was still trying to turn his act around.

"I wasn't planning on it. I just wanted some of this bourbon. It's good and the people sellin' it know that." Vincent explained with a grin. He grabbed the bottle and headed off towards the exit.

"Vinnie, where are you going?" Mira asked before Vincent got very far. He turned and held up the bottle.

"Why, I'm going to go put this in a safe place of course. Can't have it disappearing on me." Vincent said. Mira rolled her eyes and then nodded.

"Alright, but hurry back. We're having the Miss Fairy Tail contest soon." Mira called as he left. Vincent waved to her in response and closed the guild doors behind him.

Mira really hoped that Vinnie wasn't going to go get drunk. She'd have to trust that he wouldn't, but it was hard to trust Vinnie sometimes. He's crass and slightly narcissistic most of the time. Mira was having the time of her life trying to get Vinnie to change his attitude.

 _I can only do my best and hope for the same._ Mira thought as she served drinks to several guild members. She'd already seen Vincent improve a bit, but after what he did at that Tower of Heaven, Mira couldn't help but question his progress. Mira cleaned up as the Miss Fairy Tail competition started getting underway. Max was announcing and the guild was gathering by the stage.

Mira hurried to get backstage as the competition started. She went over her plan in her head, thinking that transforming her head into Happy's was a hilarious idea.

 _Maybe Vinnie will see it and get a laugh…_ Mira blinked as she realized what she was thinking about.

 _Vinnie would probably think it's dumb, knowing him._ Mira sighed and shook her head. She couldn't keep having downing thoughts. Vinnie would tell her what he thought. She didn't need to assume. The man usually spoke his mind.

Mira's turn came, time to shine.

* * *

Vincent wandered back into the guildhall with an annoyed look.

 _Stupid fucking geezer. I how many times do I have to say 'No I don't want a fish' before they leave me alone? What's this?_ Vincent looked around curiously as he came up to the guild stage.

 _Ah, this must be that competition Mira told me about. Well, she didn't really tell me what it was about… but I can only- FUCK!_ Vincent held a hand on his nose as Erza changed into a gothic maid outfit as she came out onto the stage. That was certainly something he was happy to come back and see.

 _Damn, I forget that Erza is pretty fuckin' hot too. I think Mira's got her beat though… speaking of, did I miss her?_ Vincent wondered. He looked around a bit to see if she had come out from backstage, or maybe she'd be going next…

He stopped. Someone was using magic backstage. He sensed it through the small smoke trail he'd released into the air when he entered. Vincent used it to alert him to anything and everything that happened in the hall. He used to be an assassin, never knew when someone would attempt to take his life. So, he devised a trail of smoke, that when disturbed by anything, alerted him to their presence, magic signature, or use of a spell.

It was far from flawless. A trained sniper could easily pick him off, but he usually left himself partly ethereal just in case. The bullet would phase through and only leave a cut where it entered his ethereal form.

Vincent slowly made his way around the stage. He sifted through the crowd and stopped when he noticed a green haired man watching him.

 _Who's this fucker? He looks like someone grew moss on his head._ Vincent thought, watching the man as the man watched him. They locked eyes for a moment and Vincent reached for Hades.

He was too late though.

"Lucy!"

Vincent whirled around to see a woman standing next to a stone statue of Lucy. The green haired man and a masked man with floating wooden puppets joined her.

"The Thunder Legion!?" someone yelled. Vincent didn't like that name, it reminded him too much of-

A flash of lightning hit the stage.

Laxus.

Vincent had to act. He ignored voices and bolted for the stage, drawing Hades and vaulting onto the platform. He crouched and snuck right up behind Laxus. Vincent held Hades to the woman's head- Evergreen was her name- and pulled a knife from the back of his belt, a long dagger.

"Laxus." Vincent said as he stood up and raised the dagger to Laxus' throat. Laxus turned with a huge grin on his face. Something was wrong.

 _Thought Projection._ Vincent thought in alarm. He gritted his teeth as the green haired man- Freed- drew his rapier and slashed at Vincent. The sword mostly phased through him but left a gash on his left arm as he jumped back.

"You coward. What do you think you're doing?" Vincent asked as he raised Hades towards the group on the stage. Laxus laughed and threw an arm around Lucy's stone form.

"Take a good look around, Vinnie…" Laxus said. His cocky grin pissed Vincent off, but he complied and looked around. Nothing seemed-

Mira was frozen in stone.

Vincent didn't know what got into him. A fire blazed deep within him, primal rage welled in his throat. He glared with blazing orange eyes at Laxus. A deep, monstrous growl sounded from his throat. He wanted to rip Laxus' head off.

"LAXUS!" Vincent screamed. His magic exploded outward, engulfing him in an ashy, smoking blaze. Laxus only smiled and turned to address the crowd.

"This is the Battle of Fairy Tail! LET IT COMMENCE!" Laxus shouted. He and his Thunder Legion vanished in a flash.

Vincent followed, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

 _If I find that woman… I think she's the one who turned the girls into stone._ Vincent thought as he raced across rooftop after rooftop, bridging gaps with a leap. He landed on a particularly high up rooftop and turned back to see everyone rushing out of the guildhall.

 _Good, more people means… what the fuck?_ Vincent watched as his guild mates became trapped in purple rune squares around the city as they spread out. They started fighting each other as well.

 _That swordsman… he was a fucking rune writer, wasn't he? That other guy couldn't have been, you need an instrument to write with._ Vincent thought with anger as he gripped Hades. He blinked and looked down at the firearm. He remembered Mira's words.

 _A last resort…_ He looked at Hades. With a sigh he holstered the gun. A dagger would be just fine, right? He gripped the obsidian bladed dagger. Obsidian. He'd encountered someone with magnetic abilities and steel was not something he'd fight someone like that with.

Vincent nodded, switching the blade to his right hand and leaped off the roof. He stormed down the street in search of Laxus and his "Thunder Legion" goons.

 _I swear that I'll at least cut something off of that guy…_ Vincent thought as he leaped onto another roof with a graceful bound. His half-ethereal form was quite convenient for moving great distances very quickly. It was a slow burn on his magic supply, but it saved his life on many occasions. Being in a full ethereal form was quite draining if used for too long.

Vincent came to a skidding halt atop a flat roofed building, Evergreen stood atop the tower adjacent to the building. He became slightly more ethereal and let out a faint smokescreen around himself, obscuring view from the outside and hiding his presence.

 _Damn, didn't think my power would be useful in the regular world._ Vincent thought as he leaped onto the tower and snuck up behind Evergreen. She didn't move, only watched as Elfman came barreling down the street. Vincent took the distraction as an opportunity to strike.

"Release your spell on the girls or I slit your throat." Vincent whispered as he held the razor sharp dagger blade to Evergreen's throat and gripped the bun of her hair. Evergreen yelped and glanced at Vincent from the corner of her eye.

"You. You must be that former assassin Laxus told us about. Apparently you aren't all that much to be gawked at." Evergreen said with a thin smile. Vincent growled and held his blade closer, drawing blood from her neck.

"Don't fuck with me, bitch. I will kill you. Another death is nothing on my conscience." Vincent growled and slammed his leg into the back of her knees. She cried out and dropped to her knees. Vincent pulled her head back and nearly drove his knife into her throat.

"Vincent! Don't!" Elfman called from below. The huge man climbed onto the tower with surprising speed and landed next to Vincent. He gripped the arm that held the dagger.

"Why shouldn't I? She's basically a murderer if any of those girls break. I won't have that." Vincent said with a venomous growl. Evergreen was staring at him in trepidation. She was shaking in his grip as the tip of the dagger tickled her throat.

"She's a member of Fairy Tail, for one. And for two, would Mira really approve of this? Because I sure as hell don't. It's not MANLY to kill!" Elfman shouted as he flexed his muscles.

Vincent digested his words. He looked between the enormous man and Evergreen. With a sigh he released her. She dropped onto her back and scrambled away from Vincent as he approached with his dagger pointed at her.

"Fine. I won't kill you, but I sure know how to flay a fish." Vincent said with a wicked grin. Evergreen whimpered and Elfman sighed. He could convince Vincent to not kill Evergreen, but that didn't mean not doing everything he could without killing her.

"Please! I'm sorry! I didn't want to kill anyone! Or hurt them, really! I just wanted to prove the Thunder Legion's strength and make Laxus our Guild Master! I'll release them!" Evergreen cried, huddling down as Vincent approached. His eyes blazed a bright orange. She was terrified of him. All of her bravado from a moment ago had vanished.

"Good," Vincent sheathed his dagger and turned to walk away. "But, just to be sure…" he turned and leveled his foot with Evergreen's head and kicked with flames and ash.

 _ **"Ash Dragon's Talon."**_ Vincent said as his kick hit Evergreen in the face and knocked her out.

"Why?" Elfman asked, looking at Vincent incredulously.

"Bitch needed a good thrashing for what she did, huh? Keep an eye on her." Vincent said and then leaped off of the roof.

* * *

 _Damn, should've asked her where Laxus was… stupid._ Vincent growled at his own stupidity as he sprinted through the streets. If Elfman hadn't interfered then she'd have broken and told him everything. It's how innocent people worked, threaten to end their life and they snap. Pour their soul out.

 _Well, that's how most of them work, anyway._ Vincent sighed as he leaped up onto a tall flagpole and crouched. A light breeze blew the tail of his coat as he scanned the city. An ashy shroud surrounded him and his eyes continued to burn like hot coals. Actually, they hurt. Literally burning.

"Fuck… what's wrong with me?" Vincent whispered, looking down at the light orange flame in his hand. It wisped and licked at the air, smoke and ash drifting from it into the entanglement around him, obscuring the light from the sun. He wasn't the same. His power had changed. He was a weaker form of an Ash Dragon, beings of volcanic aftermath, before Sersoot returned to him for mere moments. Now, now he was the Ash Dragon Slayer. The power of the volcanoes and direct energy was in the palm of his hand.

 _If my power has changed… doesn't it mean that I have to? Can I really keep being a self-hating, violent, and murderous drunkard when I'm now stuck in this guild?_ He gripped the flame in his palm and it continued to burn. A warmth that made his nerves steel themselves.

 _Yes._ He looked out across the city. Across his new home. From the Guild, to Mira's house. He focused on that house. That house. Mira. Vincent closed his eyes and let his power drift across the city.

 _Rune traps… rune traps… Natsu, Gajeel and Makarov are trapped in the guildhall. Erza is loose on the city… wait, Erza? Huh, I guess she escaped somehow. Now, where is Mister Pissy Pissy, Zappy Zappy?_ Vincent's head snapped towards the cathedral.

"There you are."

 **How's that? Enjoy? TWO CHAPTERS IN TWO DAYS! WOW! Yes, I know. Calm down. Hope you like this.**

 **See you next time with more Collateral Damage!**


	8. Eight: The Meaning

Chapter Eight

The Meaning

 **L** axus stood silent, commanding, and angry. Evergreen was defeated just moments ago by an unknown entity on his makeshift battlefield. The runes couldn't figure out who attacked Evergreen, but Laxus knew what "unknown entity" defeated her.

"DAMN YOU, VINCENT!" Laxus shouted, punching a pillar and shattering it instantly. He heard a chuckle from the entrance to the cathedral. He turned to regard the hooded figure standing in the archway, several staffs were attached to his back and his blue garment blew in a light breeze.

"Mystogan, how nice of you to join us. Are you here to stop me?" Laxus asked mockingly as his _**Thunder Palace**_ went into full effect and he sent out his prerecorded boast via runes. Mystogan stood silently by the archway.

"You never were one for talking, but answer me. What are you doing here?" Laxus asked, he approached and took his headphones off. Mystogan drew one of his staffs.

"I'm here because I wanted another job. You're preventing me from taking one at the moment, so I suppose I'll stop you." Mystogan said monotonously. Laxus smiled and his lightning sparked wildly.

"You can try."

* * *

Vincent chuckled as he sifted through the upper windows of the cathedral and reformed on a slight ledge. He balanced himself against a pillar and watched two powerful men face off.

 _Mystogan knows he can't fight Laxus. Laxus is a master of lightning and quick combat maneuvers. The asshole can hit anyone, anywhere with lightning._ Vincent thought as he watched Mystogan conduct a spell with his staffs.

 _I'm not sure how Mystogan really fights… but he's not going for hand-to-hand like Laxus is… And there goes Mystogan's mask._ Vincent sighed as he watched Laxus slug Mystogan in the jaw with a lightning infused punch. The man's mask and hood came apart from the blow and Vincent's eyes widened.

 _So, he's Jellal from the Parallel World. This world's Jellal is… probably dead…_ Vincent watched Mystogan. The man- blue haired with a tattoo around his eye- stood in shock as someone else entered the scene.

"J-Jellal!?" Erza yelled as she skidded to a stop in the entryway of the cathedral.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Natsu yelled as he ran inside the cathedral as well.

 _Great. Whole fucking party's here now…_ Vincent sighed as he watched Mystogan run out of the cathedral and disappear. Laxus was standing around with a cocky grin. That damn grin was pissing Vincent off.

 _I think a wicked kick to the head ought to be good for him._ Vincent thought as he deactivated his partially ethereal form. The added weight of his body let him nearly hit terminal velocity as he launched towards Laxus…

* * *

Natsu stood at the doorway of the cathedral, slightly confused. He thought he saw Jellal just then, but he swore he knocked that bastard out at his tower and dropped the place on him. Another matter was at hand though, one that demanded Natsu's attention.

"So, how do you like my Thunder Palace?" Laxus asked as he grinned at Natsu.

"Laxus! Stop this madness!" Erza demanded, pointing a spear at Laxus.

"Erza, I'll take care of Laxus. You-" Natsu cut off as he watched a shadow fly towards Laxus.

And then, Vincent appeared.

 _ **"ASH DRAGON'S TALON!"**_ Vincent shouted as he spun in midair and slammed a devastating blow on the side of Laxus' head with his flaming and smoking shin. The large man's top half snapped to the side, and in a blink of an eye, he flew into the wall of the cathedral.

* * *

Vincent landed with a click of his heels and brushed off his gentleman's duster, adjusting it after the attack he just landed.

"Holy crap! That was awesome!" Natsu yelled from the entrance. Vincent turned to regard the pair who stood in shock.

"Thanks. I thought it was. You two go have a _ball_ with Laxus' fancy little doomsday device out there, I'll handle him for awhile." Vincent said, emphasizing his pun. Natsu nodded at him, but remained at the doorway. Erza rolled her eyes at him and left the cathedral.

"VINCENT!" Laxus bellowed as he burst free from the rubble. Vincent turned to regard him, but he vanished in a flash. Vincent turned partially ethereal and ducked a powerful punch.

"Slow your roll. Aren't you going to throw a hissy fit before we actually fight!?" Vincent asked dryly. Laxus appeared in front of him, enraged and covered in lightning.

"Stop mocking me. You won't defeat me." Laxus said with a growl.

"Sure 'bout that? I remember giving you a good sucker punch just a few moments ago." Vincent chuckled. Trash talk would only get him so far, after that, it was strategy. A loose strategy that would probably fail, but a strategy nonetheless.

"SHUT UP!" Laxus yelled and shot forward violently. He swung for Vincent again. Vincent ducked with a crouch and vanished from under the man. Laxus skidded to a stop and narrowly ducked a roundhouse kick from behind. He turned and swung for Vincent, but the Ash Slayer was gone, again.

"Hey Laxus, look up." Vincent called from above. Like the gullible bastard Laxus was, he looked up and met Vincent's flaming heel.

 _ **"Ash Dragon's Talon!"**_ Vincent yelled as he dropped his heel into Laxus' nose and smashed him into the stone floor. He landed next to Laxus and hopped back as Laxus exploded with lightning.

"Fight me you coward!" Laxus bellowed as he jumped up. He slammed his hand into the ground and sent a blast at Vincent through the stones.

"I am." Vincent said as he appeared behind Laxus. The man didn't have the time to turn around when he felt the heat on his cheek.

 _ **"Ash Dragon's Flaming Fist!"**_ Vincent yelled as he decked Laxus in the side of the head. The man was violently thrown to the side and landed shakily on his feet.

"Argh, you bastard… Where did you get all of that power?" Laxus asked, sparking with lightning.

"I had it. I was just never able to really use it. It was like one of those old stories where the hero became wise and powerful after learning a lesson, or some shit like that." Vincent said with a shrug. He took his duster off and tossed to the side, leaving him in his vest and shirt with rolled up sleeves.

"That mouth of yours is going to get you hurt…" Laxus threatened as he prepared a blast of lightning.

"It already has…" Vincent said with a grin as he ignited his fists with magic. Laxus launched a blast of lightning in the form of spheres at Vincent. Vincent rushed forward, weaving in and out of the volley.

 _ **"Ash of Fiery Mounts…"**_ Vincent dodged an orb of lightning.

 _ **"Flames of Destruction…"**_ He dodged another.

 _ **"The two combined form one…"**_ Vincent leaped high into the air, slamming his hands together and forming a swirling mass of fire, smoke, and ash. Laxus slowly looked up in awe, and gulped.

 _ **"One for the legends! Ash Dragon's Seething Eruption!"**_ Vincent shouted as he descended on Laxus. He brought his mass of magic down on the man as he landed. An explosion erupted as the blast connected with Laxus and he screamed from within the smoky haze.

Vincent knew he didn't defeat Laxus. The man was too powerful for such an attack to take him down. Knowing this, Vincent leaped away from the blast zone just in time as a bolt of lightning cleared the smoke and flew under him. Vincent landed and warily stared through the haze at the sparking Laxus.

 _That was a good blow… it gave me a good drain though._ Vincent thought as he reignited his fists. Laxus growled and held a hand into the air. Lightning flew out of his hand and started forming a ball in the air.

"Shit…" Vincent muttered as the lightning ball grew over him.

 _ **"Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction! RAGING BOLT!"**_ Laxus bellowed as the thunderbolt descended on Vincent.

 _ **"Ash Dragon's Ethereal Form!"**_ Vincent shouted as he became smoke and expanded himself around the bolt to avoid it. The blast hit and the electricity in the air coursed through Vincent's smoke form and electrocuted him.

 _"AGH!"_ Vincent screamed as the spell hit him in full force and sent him flying out of his Ethereal Form. He hit the wall with a thud and slumped against it.

 _How… How did his spell hit me? Was there just so much electricity that it affected my smoke?_ Vincent thought as he slowly got to his feet.

 _Great… my new suit is roasted too…_ He sighed. His magic was low now from activating his form and stretching himself so thinly. He patted his chest for his cigars.

 _My coat…_ Vincent thought in panic as he saw his coat lying behind Laxus. He glanced at Natsu who still stood in the doorway with an angry look. The Dragon Slayer noticed Vincent's panicked look and then noticed his coat.

 _Good boy. Figure it out…_ Vincent thought as he weakly reignited his hands.

"You're looking a little shabby there, Vin. Did you really expect to escape one of my most powerful attacks?" Laxus asked as he grinned at Vincent.

"Not really. I sure hoped to." Vincent said with a sigh. He then grinned at Laxus.

"What's so funny?" Laxus asked as Vincent chuckled.

"Nothing. I'm just going to have a quick smoke." Vincent said as his cigar case slid past Laxus to him. Laxus' quirked an eyebrow at it before his eyes widened in realization. Vincent kicked the box up into the air and the cigars fell out into his hand. He pulled his lighter and gave it a boost with his magic as he lit the cigars on fire. The cigars turned into smoldering ash in an instant and Vincent ate them.

He felt his magic return as Laxus bellowed in rage and charged him head-on.

 _ **"Ash Dragon's Roar!"**_ Vincent shouted as he unleashed a stream of flaming ash at Laxus. The blast hit him directly and sent him flying across the cathedral in a screaming ball of smoldering ash. Vincent gave a thumbs up to Natsu who had ducked under the flying Laxus. Natsu grinned and stood up to face the fallen lightning user.

"So, Laxus… how's getting duped feel? Bad, right? I was duped into joining this guild, as you might know." Vincent said as he strode towards the new pile of rubble. Laxus clawed out of the shattered stone with a growl.

"Natsu… I thought a bit better of you. I thought you liked being strong." Laxus said as he stood up. He brushed himself off. Vincent frowned. There wasn't much of a scratch on this man at all.

"I do like being strong, Laxus. But I'm strong because I protect my friends, not because I'm selfish and greedy. I want to be strong so that I can protect everyone. Even Vincent." Natsu said with narrowed eyes.

"Wow, thanks? I don't know if I should feel insulted or complimented." Vincent said, giving Natsu a curious look.

"What matters in this world is power, Natsu! Weaklings like Vincent should just fall off the map!" Laxus shouted. Now Vincent was insulted.

"Now, hold on… I did just hit you, a lot. I pretty sure that I'm a lot stronger than you might think." Vincent said with a grin. Laxus growled and fired a lightning bolt at Vincent. He rolled to the side and avoided it narrowly.

"Whoa! Alright, I guess we'll go again!" Vincent yelled and ignited his hands. He charged for Laxus and leaped into the air again as Laxus started letting off more of his power.

 _ **"Ash Dragon's-"**_ Vincent cut his spell off as Laxus exploded with power and Vincent was forced to dodge. He landed in a crouch as Laxus easily deflected an attack from Natsu and decked him in the face. Natsu slammed into a pillar and slumped to the ground.

"I AM THE STRONGEST!" Laxus screamed as he unleashed more power. The magic was familiar to Vincent. Lightning magic, from a dragon… but, different. He watched in awe as Laxus grew larger, ripping his shirt apart. Scale designs appeared on his arms and his eyes were engulfed by lightning.

 _Lightning Dragon Slaying Magic. Just like John._ Vincent thought as he stood up to behold Laxus. The man turned towards him.

 _Shit._ Vincent rolled to the side as a blast of lightning crashed into the ground where he was standing.

"Vincent! It's time I end you!" Laxus shouted as he launched forward with his fist cocked back.

 _ **"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!"**_ Laxus yelled. Vincent tried to dodge but Laxus was too fast. The attack connected with Vincent's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying rightthrough a wall…

* * *

Vincent regained his consciousness against the side of a building. He weakly looked up and saw flashes through the hole in the cathedral wall his body made. There was a burning pain in his chest and he couldn't move his legs very well.

"Argh… bastard paralyzed me…" Vincent growled as he tried to sit up. He winced and placed his hand on his chest. His vest, cravat, and shirt were gone. Most likely burned away. He felt the wound on his chest, it was severely burned and hurt like hell.

"Flammable material…" Vincent looked around and noticed he was surrounded by the rubble of the wall that used to be behind him. He didn't find anything he could burn. Some people were gathered around him as well, watching him curiously.

"Someone get me paper… or something else I can turn into ash…" Vincent grumbled weakly. The Magnolia residents looked around at each other.

"Uh… mister, what's happening? Are you a Fairy Tail wizard?" a woman asked, crouching near Vincent.

"I am… now get me something to burn for fuck's sake! I'm dying here…" Vincent groaned as he felt some of his melted flesh fall off. Laxus really was trying to kill him.

 _He put so much electricity into that blow that it melted the skin off of my body…_ Vincent thought as he saw his sternum. He nearly puked, but that hurt too much.

"Uh… okay… here's yesterday's paper." The lady said, handing Vincent a newspaper.

"Lighter." Vincent mumbled. A man walked up and handed over a small lighter. Vincent stuffed the paper in his mouth and took the lighter. He lit the paper on fire and inhaled. He felt the smoke being converted to power in him and his chest stopped falling apart.

The townsfolk watched in horror as Vincent burned the paper into his mouth and ate the ash. They apparently didn't notice that he was dying, literally.

"Ugh… fuck…" Vincent groaned as he regained some of his health. His chest patched itself up slightly and he regained movement in his legs.

"Thank you… I almost died…" Vincent said as he crawled to his hands and knees. The woman grasped his arm and helped him stand. The lighter man did the same.

"You're a Fairy Tail wizard. The jobs you take help keep us and our families safe by defeating evil men and beasts. It's only right that we help you." The woman explained with a smile as someone else handed Vincent a bottle of water. He looked to the small old woman who handed him the bottle.

"T-Thank you…" Vincent mumbled as he sipped from the water. The people guided him over to a bench and he sat down.

"It's no problem, young man. Do you need something to eat?" the elderly woman asked. Vincent nodded weakly and sipped the water. The woman waved to an old man who walked over with a burned piece of wood.

"You're a Dragon Slayer, like Natsu Dragneel, right? That's why you ate ash." The old man said as he handed Vincent the burned wood. Vincent nodded and took a bite of the ashy wood.

"Yes… he's in that church right now, defending this city. I was trying to do the same… mostly for a personal vendetta… but…" Vincent trailed off as he healed more and regained his magic. He finally stood up and munched on ash.

"I… I, uh… I wasn't aware that you people were this generous. You don't even know who I am." Vincent said, looking over the crowd. He was easily taller than them and could see the many people who gathered around. Apparently, word spread about his power because many people held buckets of ash and paper with lighters.

"That doesn't matter. We're proud and happy to help the boys and girls who risk themselves for a better world. No one got anywhere good by being selfish." The old woman explained. Vincent blinked.

 _That's… very true. No one builds an empire on their own, unless they're a god or some shit… But, I think I understand why Mira hates it when I just go and fuck off on my own. Why she wants me to stop killing people. Why she wants me to be nice for once. I think._ Vincent thought as he scanned the crowd. He noticed the woman from earlier and moved over to her, the people parted for him.

"Uh… sorry about yelling at you earlier… I'm not a good sport under stress." Vincent apologized awkwardly. The woman smiled and handed him another newspaper.

"Don't worry about it. I think you ought to get going though, those blasts inside the cathedral are getting worse…" the woman said. Vincent nodded and lit the paper on fire, eating the ashes. He grinned at her before starting towards the cathedral. As he passed, peopled threw flaming papers, ashes, and even firecrackers at him. He caught them as he walked, stuffing them in his mouth and swallowing it.

They handed him burnt wood too. Someone gave him ashes that tasted like tomatoes. Another gave him a torch. Someone else gave him a burned slice of pizza. That was pretty good. Vincent started running through the crowd, towards the hole he exited the cathedral through.

He continued to eat ashy, flaming things they gave him. He felt the power welling in him, becoming larger and stronger as he consumed things. Power. More and more power.

His eyes morphed to an orange shade.

He became engulfed in a smoldering haze of ash as he leaped into the cathedral.

 _I think I get it._

"LAXUS!"

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Done. How was that? Fights, character stuff, pizza. Cool? Cool.**

 **See you next time with more Collateral Damage!**


End file.
